


Hold Me Close

by okayangie



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Badass Clarke, Badass Lexa, But they also love each other, Clexa, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gentlewoman Lexa, Kickass Lexa, Little bit of angst, M/M, Multi, Sassy Clarke, Sassy Lexa, Secret Service - Freeform, Sexual Tension, Sexy Lexa, Smut, actually i will make no such promises, but not much i promise, clarke and Lexa hate each other, clarke and lexa are soulmates, clarke and lexa endgame, lexa is a soft little gay bean, or something, saau, secret agent AU, task force - Freeform, they HATE that they LOVE each other, unresolved history, wait no
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-08-28 12:24:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 41,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8445727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okayangie/pseuds/okayangie
Summary: It never really made sense. The accident, the facts, the lies. Clarke Griffin could never really accept it. She wouldn't believe it, it just didn't add up, and far be it from Clarke Griffin to swallow stories and let it slide. Although, she doesn't know what troubles she might fall into while digging for the truth, or...fall for?Lexa has planned it for years, avenging her parents, avenging everyone Azgeda has taken away from her, and watching them crumble to the ground. Lexa has planned this for years, but somehow, bumping into a blonde (literally) is all it takes for her world to turn upside down. ORSecret Agent AU where,When revenge driven Lexa and truth seeking Clarke cross paths, fate plays its own little funny game and neither girl knows what's coming their way.





	1. A magician never reveals

**Author's Note:**

> A little backstory and little step forward.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions and a little background

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> clexa secret agent au 
> 
> no beta

She always managed to get into these situations somehow. No matter how hard she tried, she always managed to end up here.

Here, of course being, getting shot at from across the large warehouse floor, hiding behind the huge metal crates.

She wasn’t surprised though, this wasn’t a first for Lexa Woods.

She slightly peeked from the side of the metal box she had her back to, only to almost get shot through the face. She sighed as the loud ‘clank’ sound of the bullet ricocheting off the side echoed in her ears.

She peeked again, in the midst of the constant shooting.

She took in what she could before she was forced to take cover behind the box again.

Four men. Two with automatic guns, and rest two with pistols. She quickly looked at her gun, pulling out her last remaining clip.

Three bullets.

“Shit” she whispered. There was no way she going to shoot her way out of this. She looked around frantically for any sign of escape. Any way to the roof, where her ride awaited.

She could see from above the crate, a staircase leading to the open sky, hopefully beginning from the bottom.

She was busy observing the staircase when an idea popped into her head. An idea she was probably going to regret, dead or alive, still regret.

Still in the middle of considering whether it was worth dying or not, she heard footsteps slowly closing in, shooting now stopped.

With no choice left, she confirmed the safety of the files in her bag and began sneaking to the left, beyond wooden boxes, crouching behind them, creeping towards the other end of the warehouse.

She surprisingly went undetected as she tiptoed besides them, simultaneously thinking about how exactly this ended up happening.

 They had entered so skillfully. Her, Anya and Lincoln, successfully taking out at least 9 guards within seconds, dropping them unconscious to the ground.

But at the lack of the sight of the papers they came to retrieve, called a retreat, one enforced by the entry of 4 more guards, now with machine guns.

Lexa was not one to easily give up though, she risked it all on a hunch.

One thing led to another and here she was, running for her life, with Anya and Lincoln long gone and unaware of what they would later pounce on Lexa about.

She silently cursed herself for being this prone to life and death situations; though it wasn’t necessary, guess it came with the job.

Finally the stairs were in her reach, and the guards had discovered her absence behind the crates.

The sound of Lexa’s barely quite footsteps on the metal stairs didn’t help much with the absence part.

As soon as the sound echoed, all heads turned and shots were once again fired at a running brunette.

Lexa ducked behind the railing and fired her gun before she heard a click sound.

Out of bullets.

_Fuck._

Right when Lexa threw her gun and began running up again, merely centimeters from the roof, a bullet grazed her right thigh, causing her to lean on the door.

As if she was used to the pain, she began limping towards the bright light and machine hum.

Polis.

She kept limping towards the giant aircraft when she felt Lincoln run out to support her with one arm and shoot two guards on the roof with the other. As soon as they were on the ramp, Polis took off, leaving the guards firing unaffecting bullets at the gigantic black bird.

They slowly walked further in as the ramp closed completely and they were in the air.

He slowly settled her on the couch and put his gun back into his holster before stepping back. Letting a much larger man hover over Lexa.

She smiled nervously at the man with a big build and perfectly shaped beard as he stood cross armed, tapping his foot, anger crystal clear on his face.

He wore a crisp grey suit. Eyes narrowed with furrowed brows.

“Lexa, what the hell!?” he began, “You could’ve gotten yourself killed out there!”

“Okay, good point.” She lifted a finger to delay if not halt the upcoming storm. “Buuuuuuut, in my defence…” she trailed off as she took out a file reading “M.W.” out of her bag and offered them to the large man still visibly frustrated.

He flipped through two pages before handing it to Indra who was standing straight next to the couch. Lexa suddenly very aware of all the eyes on her.

Augustus was never in the mood for jokes, especially when it came to her.

He was now crouched next to Lexa, not caring how it crinkled his grey suit.

“Listen to me carefully, Lexa. I do not give a damn about the files, you could’ve been shot, dead or worse, taken by the Queens. Did you even stop to think for one second what could’ve happened? Did you? Do you have any id—“

He stopped to consider his own words, contemplating what could’ve happened.

Lexa could see fear flashing across his eyes. His face now shifting from it’s usual expressionless state to a grave face. She reciprocated shamefaced as his haunted expression quickly faded away.

He stood up, straightening his suit and with a stoic front, he commanded, “Anya, take Agent Woods back to her room, take care of her injuries and make sure she rests.”

He said without turning around to where Anya was leaning on the table, next to Lincoln.

Lexa let her head fall back on the arm rest of the couch and let out an exasperated sigh as Augustus turned on his heel and walked towards his office, Indra slowly following behind. As soon as the beep of automatic doors was heard, Anya crouched down next to her, while she stared at the ceiling.

“”Agent Woods?” Sheesh…he’s really pissed at you this time…” she trailed off as she tried to help Lexa up, supporting her with one arm.

Lexa hissed in a breath as she stood, putting her weight on Anya, while Lincoln busied himself with checking the ammunition in the pistols laid out on the table.

“Why is he pissed though? I did the job didn’t I? I got what we’ve been chasing after for weeks. What is the proble—“

“The problem,” Anya cut her off, “is that you risked your life for a couple of papers. He’s not wrong, Lexa. You really could’ve died.” They were now entering Lexa’s room where Anya set her down on the bed.

“Yeah, we all can, any second, of any day, it comes with the job, An.” She raised her voice so Anya could hear her while she walked into the bathroom to get bandages, towels and hot water.

“Take your pants off.” She said as she walked out of the small door inside the room.

She sat besides the bed Lexa was resting on and kept the things she had acquired on the floor.

“Jeez, at least take me out for dinner first, you sex crazed animal.” She smirked while Anya rolled her eyes.

A loud hiss was heard as Lexa tried to shimmy out of her black ripped jeans, only to find them drenched in blood near where the bullet grazed Lexa.

When they were completely off, Anya could see exactly how deep the bullet hit.

She glanced at Lexa lying in her boy shorts, and then back at the bandages on the floor. She wet a towel and started cleaning the blood off of Lexa’s thigh, earning a few ‘ah’s and grunts.

“Do you see this? This bullet wound? One more second, Woods, and you could’ve been shot right through, and bled out on dirty, concrete floor.” Anya said while still cleaning the blood, now being a little more careful.

“But I didn’t. I’m here and we got the information we need against the Queens.”

“Yeah and you almost lost a leg.”

“Almost”

Anya scoffed.

She began wrapping a bandage around the brunettes wound. Fear, concern and anger all three showing as some sort of a storm in her eyes.

“Hey…” Lexa held Anya’s arm. Anya looked upto meet forest green eyes.

“I’m here, I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” She tried to calm her down.

“I know, just, stop being an idiot all the time, Woods”

“You got it.” She gave her a soft smile.

Anya looked at Lexa for a second and then snickered.

“Now what’re you gonna do about Gus.” She was all done with the bandaging and sat next to Lexa.

“Hope he’s fine by tomorrow morning.” She rested her head on her pillow.

“Yeah well, don’t get your hopes up too high, kiddo. You really did a number on him this time.” She stood up, grabbing the bloody water and towels.

Lexa felt guilt gnawing in her chest. She knew that they cared. More than anything, for her. Anya and Gus had always been by her side, always been her support, her backbone. All she was today, was because of their constant protection over her. They were her family, even if she didn’t know the one she came from, they were family enough.

But the over protective attitude could get a little on her nerves sometimes. Though she loved them with everything she had, she couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by their shielding.

“I know, but I have a feeling tomorrow’s gonna be a good day.” She sighed and smiled at the ceiling.

“Oh right, we’re flying to Brooklyn tomorrow, aren’t we? You finally get to see Aden after weeks, huh?” she smiled subconsciously at the thought of the little blonde boy herself.

Lexa sighed deeply, and a soft smile spread across her face as she closed her eyes.

“Finally…”

As soon as Anya left the room, closing the door slowly with a small smile plastered on her face, Lexa shifted a hand underneath her head, wincing at the pain all over her body.

 Oh yeah, she was definitely gonna feel this tomorrow.

Regardless, she put her other hand on her stomach and drifted off to sleep at the thought of Aden.

Tomorrow was going to be a good day.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Gus walked into his office and stood next to the window.

He sighed and dipped his head, he was so tired. Tired of never resting, tired of risking Lexa’s life over and over again. He looked out over the clouds as the sun was setting. The sky had turned into an orange-red hue and you could barely see the top curve of the bright light, slowly fading away.

His mind was still wandering. Lexa almost died today… _again._ One bullet, one second, one slip up is all it would’ve taken. He knew it was all part of the job, he knew Lexa was aware of what she signed up for and he knew the risks that came along with it. But she could take it, Gus couldn’t.

He’d come too close to losing Lexa, too many times.

His heart sunk down to his stomach at the thought of Lexa slipping away from his hands.

No.

He couldn’t let it happen.

Not again…

_“Woods! Woods!” Gus shouted into his radio. “What the hell are you doing!?”_

_There was a long silence before the radio was finally heard._

_“He killed her, Augustus” Alexander Woods was anything but a reckless agent. But the thought of his wife, dying at the hands of Roan Queen, while she begged for mercy before he shot her in the head, was the only thing driving his actions._

_“He shot her in the head and left her for dead…all…all because of me.” Gus could feel guilt weighing in on Alexander._

_“Alex listen to me! It wasn’t you, it was that bastard Roan. And I promise you we’ll get him, but right now with no backup or plan, we **need** to go!”_

_“No…I need to fix this. For her, Gus. For Lexa, for Aden.” His mind was set, he knew that, so did Gus._

_“You go in there, Alex and you die. Think of Alexandria and Aden.” Gus frantically ran towards the rooftop where he knew this was going down._

_“I AM thinking of Lexa and Aden. Roan killed her in cold blood, Gus. Becca had nothing to do with this,_

_he...” Alex abruptly stopped._

_“Alex? ALEX?!” Gus stopped on the stairs, and for a second so did his heart._

_“He’s here…” Gus could now hear the helicopter sound._

_“Alex…don’t…” Gus knew there was no way he was going to reach there in time._

_“She didn’t deserve this. Becca, oh my beautiful Becca. She did nothing wrong. And he…he…he doesn’t deserve to live...” The radio began transmitting a static noise._

_“No…” Gus said to himself before he ran with all abandon._

_It had only been seconds, and Gus was so close, close enough to have a view of the rooftop through the doors._

_A gun shot, rang through his ears echoing, as he watched Roan turn around and get into his chopper which was off in seconds._

_“Alexander! No!” he ran across the roof shooting bullets at the black bird in the air. No use._

_Instead he ran to his best friend, his partner, his brother._

_He quickly threw his pistol on the floor and knelt down to pick Alexander’s head onto his lap. Pressing down at his bullet wound in his gut._

_“No no no no no…” tears began streaming down his face._

_Alex could barely breathe. There was no way out of this. They both knew it._

_“Hey, i- I didn’---t know someo--ne as buf-f as y-you could cr-y” he chuckled a little before coughing out blood. His body writhing in pain, though he tried his best, and failed, to hide it._

_“It’s gonna be okay Alex, the medical team’s gonna come okay? Just stay with me. Alright? Look at me, keep breathing. Everything is gonna be fine.” He tried to convince himself more than anyone._

_“There’s n-no plan B t-to thi-s, old f-friend.” Alex grabbed Gus’s hand to his chest. “Y-you should k-now, you-ve b-been like a bro-other t-to me, and i-ve alwa-ays l-oved y-you like f-family.”_

_“No, you don’t get to do this. Alex, you idiot. Oh you fucking idiot. You don’t get to give up.” Gus was practically sobbing now, holding onto Alexander._

_Alex let out a breathy laugh and coughed._

_“i-im afraid that’s n-not up for neg-gotiation.”_

_He coughed harder this time, blood sputtering everywhere._

_Gus pushed down on Alex’s blood source as hard as he could, but both of them knew there was no way out of this, this was it. Only one of them couldn’t accept it._

_“T-take care of L-exa and Aden f-for me” Alex tightened his grip on Gus’s hand…_

_…until he didn’t._

_His neck fell to this side, his hand let go, and his chest stopped moving._

_“No…” Gus sobbed, lowering his head onto the chest of the body before him. Because that’s all it was now, a lifeless body, and there was nothing Augustus could do about it._

_He cried onto his gear. He couldn’t face that Alex’s heart wasn’t beating._

_He couldn’t accept that he was dead._

_That Alexander Woods was gone._

 

“You think too loud.”

Gus suddenly jerked up from his leaned position besides the large, glassed window.

He turned around to see Indra leaning against the door to his quarters.

She offered him a small smile, and he hesitantly returned one as he turned back around.

“She got shot today.” He stated, still not turning around.

“Grazed. And she’s been shot before, she’s been through all this before.” She began walking towards Gus.

“I know but…” he turned around to face Indra, “everytime I fear a little more, my heart beats a little faster, Indra. I get more scared.”

“I know that…” she had only begun to speak when…

“No…” he turned towards the window, which displayed nothing but pitch black at this point.

“I have to protect her, I promised, I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and now…now…”

“Now she’s doing what she thinks is right,” Indra completed his sentence for him. “She’s doing what Alexander would’ve do—“

“What Alexander did…and Alex died.” He reminded her, forgetting for a moment that, that memory was as clear in her mind as his.

She put her hands on his shoulders, trying to get him to look at her.

“Alexander didn’t deserve the death he got, precisely why Lexa is doing what she’s doing. Precisely why she joined the mission of bringing down the Queens. She knows what she’s doing, Augustus. She just needs you by her side.”

“I can’t lose her, Indra.” He said with his eyes showing a fear Indra had only seen once before.

“And she can’t lose you, but you need to support her, god knows that girl needs it.”

Gus looked at her and then took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a minute.

He opened them with a broken look.

“Thankyou…” he took his hands out of his pockets and crossed them infront of his chest.

Indra nodded with a smile before putting the file Lexa had retrieved on the table and walking out of Gus’s office.

As soon as the door had beeped closed, Gus sighed deeply before turning to his table to go through the file.

Blueprints, camera locations, security numbers, guard schedules and everything else they needed to know about the Mount Weather, Brooklyn Headquarters.

 This was it. This was the beginning to taking down the Queen empire.

But right now he looked forward to Brooklyn for a completely different reason.

Right now he didn’t think about the mission he had in a week, or the plans he’d have to make, or the people he’d have to risk.

He was going back home.

And that’s all that mattered.

Tomorrow was going to be a good day.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Clarke was 6 when her dad taught her how to ride a bike. On her blue bicycle with a flag at the back.

Clarke was 9 when she learned how to draw from her dad. Earning him a stick figure drawing of Abby, him and Clarke on a piece of paper that was later hung on the fridge.

Clarke was 10 when she sprained her ankle on her bicycle. While Jake held her hand and told her that he was gonna be there whenever Clarke needed him.

Clarke was 11 when she drew a picture of a forest with charcoal that left both Jake and Abby shocked.

Clarke was 12 when her dad taught her how to throw a punch and break a knee. She learned how to defend herself.

Clarke was 13 when she got into a huge fight with her mom and didn’t talk to her for 3 days until Jake declared a peace treaty between the two. That was when they all knew Jake was the glue that held them all together.

Clarke was 14 when her dad taught her how to fire a gun and how to aim. He taught her how to steady her hands so they shoot right through.

Clarke was 15 when her dad taught her how to steady her grip on a canvas, and Clarke painted the most beautiful picture of the night sky Jake had ever seen.

Clarke was 16 when the police came knocking at the door at 2 AM mumbling something that Clarke couldn’t really hear in half sleep. All she remembered was Abby crying and going to her dad’s funeral a week later.

Clarke was 17 when she tried to convince everyone that something didn’t add up about her dad’s death, how it didn’t seem like a hit and run. She was told she was crazy and that it was just trauma.

Clarke was 18 when she graduated from her highschool in Redding, Boston and went straight to Skaikru University in Brooklyn. Majoring in art and meeting her best friends Raven and Octavia.

Clarke turned 21 and finally finished college. She got a part time job at a cupcake shop while she continued making art that was often hung up in nearby art exhibitions and museums. She moved in with Raven and Octavia into a four bedroom loft.

Though she was regretting the loft decision immensely, as Raven was banging at Clarke’s door at the speed of a woodpecker.

“Clarke Clarke clarke clarke clarke clarke Clarke clar---“

Raven stopped as the door flew open to display a growling Clarke with hair that looked like they were the home of some very messy birds.

“What?” she snarled at Raven who was now broadly smiling.

“Good morning to you too, Griffin.” she teased as Clarke continued to glare at her.

“Raven, it is 8 in the fucking morning on a Sunday. Somebody better be dying for you to wake me up, or I can assure you somebody will be dead.” She threatened the Latina, though after 4 years of friendship she was oblivious to such silly little outbursts.

“Actually i—“ she began before their other roomate chipped into the conversation. Rather angrily.

“RAVEN I SWEAR TO GOD IF I HEAR ONE MORE WORD I WILL BREAK YOUR OTHER LEG.” Octavia came screaming out of the room into the hallway where a similarly pissed blonde was enquiring the brunette.

“Jesus, why don’t y’all take a chill pill?” She raised her hands up in surrender.

“Why have you woken me up at this god forsaken hour?” Octavia said through gritted teeth.

“Because I just got a call from Murphy.” she shrugged and began fixing the brace on her left leg.

Clarke and Octavia looked at each other and then back at Raven who seemed to be finding use in the black belts around her thigh.

“….And?” Clarke asked.

“If…you would be so kind as to reveal?” Octavia said with a disgusted look on her face.

“Oh, right. The gang’s coming over for breakfast.” She added while turning around to make her way into the kitchen that was joined with the living room.

“What? Why?” the blonde rubbed her eyes as she too walked to join Raven in the kitchen a little further from the hallway they were just in, across the couches.

“I don’t know but they’ll be here in about an hour.” She said while sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Urghhhhhhhhhhh” was the only sound Octavia made as she made her way into her room that was the furthest of the three and even after she had closed her door you could still hear her screaming.

The remaining two girls looked at each other, at Octavia’s door, and then back at each other.

“I’ll get started on coffee and breakfast.” Clarke declared.

“I’ll bring Satan out” Raven added.

They both nodded and got to work on their individual tasks.

Clarke poured herself a cup of coffee and Raven…well…because she’s Raven…tried the only thing she knew best how to do. Annoy.

“O, o, o, o, o, o, o, o” she banged at her door.

And Clarke heard Octavia yell, “LEAVE ME ALONE RAVEN BEFORE I THROW YOU OUT OF THE WINDOW” before she made her way to the rooftop from the emergency escape by the kitchen window.

She shook her head at her knuckleheaded friends but smiled at how much she loved them regardless, as she walked towards the edge of the roof to lean over the barrier. She kept her coffee cup on the sill and tied her hair into a messy bun.

A cool breeze still filled the air and looking at the collection of buildings from the rooftop wasn’t a bad view either. She took a sip of her coffee and let the wind freshen up her face.

Clarke had the perfect place. The kitchen wasn’t small or big, it was just the right size and opened into the living room where they pitched in money to buy a plasma TV surrounded by brown and dark brown couches. The wall besides the living room was all windowed and looked like a glass wall, opening out to the view of other buildings, small and tall.

Sunlight would fall in through the glass wall across the wooden flooring and over every piece of decoration, every poster, and the whole place in general, lighting it up in a very calming way.

Raven and Octavia never let that calm sustain though.

Clarke chuckled a little at the thought of her friends.

Realizing that she had reached the end of her coffee she took in the beautiful sight before her one last time.

The light hue of dusk still lingering at the horizons, buildings and buildings, one next to another, the smell of morning dew. God, she could stay here forvever.

“Claaaaaaaaarke.” She heard a very familiar voice of Raven from downstairs.

Guess forever was gonna have to wait.

She sighed and began making her way back down. She came back in through the kitchen window only to find Octavia glaring at Raven from the kitchen counter while Raven stood in the kitchen clearly a little scared of the wolf eyes on her.

“So…I got Octavia out of bed…” she said nervously.

“I will make you suffer.” Octavia narrowed her eyes in anger.

“…sort of” she scrunched up her nose. “Now what are we doing for breakfast.” She clasped her hands together.

Clarke looked confused. “What do you mean “what are we doing?”?”

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raven, Clarke and Octavia were now sprawled out in front of the TV eating cheerios straight out of the box, brawls long forgotten.

Except for, well, Octavia planning out 7 million ways to kill and hide Raven’s body, her objective clear in her frequent death glares at Raven, to which the Latina nervously snuggled closer to Clarke.

Clarke felt it was important that she sat in the middle to prevent a homicide in their home.

 

“Ladies! Your wish has been fulfilled, I am…here…”

Murphy walked in through the door with his arms spread out as if he was some sort of a god walking amongst mere mortals.

At this the three girls jerked up from their cozy position on the brown couch.

Clarke could now take in the whole scene. Bellamy was standing next to the door, probably from holding the door open for Murphy, with grocery bags in the muscled arms.

The boy always unconsciously did that. Little things, hold the door open, warn Murphy before steps, offer his handkerchief when he sneezed and so many more things he would never admit to. He would just shrug it off. He wasn’t fooling anyone. Except Murphy.

Clarke rolled her eyes at Murphy and Octavia shook her head.

Raven switched between looking at Clarke and Octavia.

“Did any of you wish for pathetic loneliness and unfunny humor?” she gestured to Murphy with her head.

“Cause I sure didn’t” she smirked.

At this both the girls giggled and Bellamy shook his head with a smile while closing the door.

“Oh ha ha, Raven. That’s hilarious.” Murphy crossed his arms and pouted.

“Oh come on all of you, stop picking on Murphy.” Bellamy entered into the conversation after keeping the groceries at the kitchen counter.

“HA! Suck it, Reyes! I’ve got muscle man on my side.” Murphy leaned on Bellamy with his elbow on his shoulder.

Raven just rolled her eyes.

“So, what’s for breakfast?” the older Blake enquired.

“Uh, about that…” Octavia trailed off glancing at Raven.

“I don’t think any of us know how to actually cook…things…” Raven added.

“Except Clarke, I think she knows how to burn toast.” Octavia said with a grin.

Clarke merely gaped at Octavia.

“Hey! At least I didn’t light the wooden spatula on fire!” Clarke retorted.

“ONE TIME!” Octavia tried to counter.

Bellamy dipped his head and pinched at the bridge of his nose, and sighed.

“It’s fine. I knew you guys wouldn’t be able to make breakfast even if your life depended on it. I got things to make pancakes. I just hoped you guys as responsible adults would’ve learned by n---“

“PANCAKES!” Raven and Octavia screamed at the same time, seemingly not having heard a word of whatever else Bellamy said.

He took in a deep sigh. “Yes. Yes, pancakes.” Bellamy smiled at Murphy.

Clarke only giggled at the whole scene, while Murphy smiled back from where he was now situated next to Clarke on the recliner.

Bellamy began walking towards the kitchen and putting on his apron, one that Murphy thought he looked adorable in.

The rest four grown adults in pajamas and black jeans (Murphy ever the black obsessed skinny boy) turned their heads to the TV when the door flew open again.

Clarke was beginning to wonder why all her friends had keys to their house.

“Friends, your wish has be---“ a lanky dude with ruffled hair walked in with a walk much similar to Murphy’s.

“Already used it, Jasper.” Murphy cut him off without moving his gaze from the TV screen.

His hands dropped down to his sides with disappointment, disgust spread across his face.

“Dammit, Murphy! Everytime!” He looked away.

“He had been practicing that line all the way in the car” Monty closed the door and stepped around into the living room area.

Jasper gasped and shot him a look of betrayal.

“I was so no---“ he began before Monty raised his eyebrows at him.

He finally gave up after a mini stare off.

“Fiiiiiine…” he crossed his arms and looked away.

Everyone giggled.

“Mmm. What smells so good?” Monty lifted his nose and closed his eyes.

“Pa—“ Bellamy started…not for long

“PANCAKES! Bellamy got us pancakes!” Raven and Octavia shouted once again in unison.

Bellamy cocked a brow.

“Yes…I did.” He turned to the boy in the green hoodie. “Monty, come gimme a hand!” Bellamy gestured a motion with his free hand.

He nodded vigorously before running over and putting on another apron.

For people who didn’t know how to cook, these guys sure had a lot of aprons.

While delicious pancakes cooked in the background everyone else was left chilling in the open living room. Discussing who got which pancake and witnessing Raven and Murphy fight over whether they were gonna watch discovery channel, where they were gonna show the launch of a satellite or “Gossip Girl”.

At the mention of which all heads turned to Murphy who’s taste usually ran a little darker.

“What?! They’re gonna reveal who gossip girl is today and I didn’t follow six seasons of this to miss it!” He defended himself.

The silly quarrels continued while Clarke just snickered and smiled at her stupid friends. Her stupid, problematic, so-not-ready-for-adulthood friends.

Who she absolutely loved.

 

The pancakes were now being served around the living room. Raven and Murphy wearing pouts on their faces.

Bellamy had interrupted and pulled out the TV chord closing the screen entirely, not letting anyone watch anything once he saw the TV wars were going a little overboard.

The pouts soon vanished as Monty and Bellamy brought delicious looking pancakes on the table at which Raven and Octavia practically pounced. He simply snickered.

Everyone took some pancakes in their plates and sat around the center table.

“Mmmm, Bell. These pancakes taste like heaven is raining on earth.” Raven moaned causing Bellamy to chuckle from his seat on the arm rest of the couch to get a closer position to Murphy.

Literally fooling no one.

“They taste like mom’s…” Octavia smiled at Bellamy. To which he offered a small smile back.

Jasper engaged himself in eating his breakfast with such vigor that Monty stared at him with a cocked brow for about a good minute.

“Hey Jasper, how’s the first apparent meal in your life tasting?” Monty gestured with his fork towards Jasper’s now mashed up pancakes.

“No Judghingh, I haf noth eathen anythingh sinsh an affle yeshtherdhay.” He mumbled with crumbs of pancakes falling everywhere.

While everyone seemed to be dumbstruck at what the lanky boy was going on about, Monty seemed to get it perfectly. Perks of being childhood best friends, Clarke assumed.

“Whatever you say, Pooh.” Monty turned to eat his own food. Not noticing how Jasper with his mouthful narrowed his eyes at him.

Clarke snickered and everyone set about eating their own heavenly pancakes.

“Hey Bell! How’s the job at the precinct going?” Raven asked out of nowhere.

To which Bellamy just growled.

Clarke cocked a brow and then looks at Murphy in question, who shook his head with a small smile.

“Bellamy’s boss is being a pain in the ass.” Murphy justified Bellamy’s constant stabbing at his delicious breakfast.

“Hey if you don’t want it I will happily take that but I would request you not to take out your wrath on those babies, Bell.” Raven said with genuine concern on her face.

“Wait a minute, you mean Wells?” Clarke inquired.

Murphy nodded.

Clarke turned to Bellamy.

“Bellamy, he is the reason you _have_ this job. You’re lucky he turned out to be my childhood friend otherwise you would have gone through a lot worse to get where you are, pretty boy.” Clarke pointed out.

Bellamy scoffed.

“Yeah, here being a beat cop, nowhere close to getting promoted to detective.” Bellamy looked down in disappointment.

Murphy clearly noticing the sadness in Bellamy’s voice, put his hand on his arm.

“Hey.” Murphy prompted Bellamy to look him in the eyes.

“You’ll get there eventually.” He assured, at which Bellamy smiled softly.

Everyone looked at them with cocked brows while the two boys seemed to oblivious to anything but each other.

“Serioushly, Bellamy. Whath the hell are tthese phanchakes madhe off, paradhise?” Jasper chimed in to the stares, still not lifiting his gaze from his fork and almost finished breakfast.

Bellamy, seemingly snapped back to reality turned his head to Jasper with a smirk.

“A magician never reveals.” He looked at his own plate.

“Oh come on! What is it? Now I’m curious! Chocolate chip cookies?” Octavia chirped up.

“Not telling.” He shook his head and exchanged smiled with Monty.

“Is it vanilla essence?” Murphy tried.

Bellamy motioned to zip his lips.

“Is it…cocaine? Oh my god! Bellamy! Is it cocaine? Is that how we all are so obsessed with your pancakes? Is that your evil way of getting us addicted us to your delicious, mouth watering food?” Raven gasped, as if she had just uncovered a great conspiracy theory.

“What? No, Raven. I, a cop, am not slipping my best friends and little sister drugs.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You never know.” Raven mumbled under her breath.

“Is it cocoa?” Octavia inquired.

“I told you, my lips are sealed.” He puffed out his chest.

“Oh come on, Bellamy!” all repeated in different ways and tones.

“Nope.” He simply waved his finger from side to side.

In the middle of the bickering Clarke felt her phone buzz.

Her giggling was halted stop by a text message that made her heart sink and soar at the same time.

She walked away from the still arguing group of friends and went into the hallway that lead to their rooms.

****

**_Wells: I think I have a lead. Meet me at the Dropship by noon._ **

****

After months and months, they had finally gotten a lead. Finally gotten closer and closer to her goal.

To find out what happened to her father.

She sighed and leaned against the wall.

She was gonna find out who did it.

And she was gonna make them pay.

For good.

 

 

After hours of trying and failing at finding Bellamy’s secret ingredient, the almost-adults had given up and went to their places in defeat.

 Bellamy dropped Murphy at his house and went to his own.

Jasper and Monty went back to their apartment, being roommates since college, and having the same friends, the two boys had gotten used to being together all the time.

Octavia went to her kickboxing lessons, and Raven ever the workaholic went to her institute to research on something related to physics that Clarke didn’t understand a word of.

Using the excuse of going to check on her art in the studio, Clarke took a shower, quickly dressed up and made her way in her dad’s old convertible red 1965 Mustang.

Clarke smirked a little beneath her dark shades, internally acknowledging how great her dad’s taste was.

As soon as the blonde started the car, it roared like a beast and Clarke was soaring through the streets of Brooklyn in no time.

She reached the Dropship in what felt like seconds. She parked her car with practiced ease and made her way through the crowds of the bar.

At a corner booth there he was, staring at his silver watch, much more expensive looking than Clarke’s dad’s old watch that she wore despite the fact that it was broken. He had his brown coat hugging his body closely and he held his coffee in his other hand.

The boy seemed impatient, rather, scared, with the sunlight shining on his dark complexion.

Clarke wondered why?

She soon found out.

“Easy there, roadrunner.” She sat down across from Wells, startling the already shivering boy. “What’s got you shaking?” she asked with actual concern.

“What the hell took you so long?!” Wells yelled in a whisper and then looked around, ducking, as if watching out for someone, as if he was, hiding?

“B-bellamy and gang came over last minute. Hey Wells, are you okay?” she put a hand on his shoulder, which he seemed to flinch away from.

He looked at her with pity in his eyes before he looked anywhere but.

It was difficult to deliver news of the kind that he had to.

It was difficult to muster up the courage to tell someone it was over.

That it was all over.

“We can’t” he said with a sigh.

Clarke’s furrowed her brows.

“We can’t what?” she asked.

“We can’t go any further… _you_ can’t go any further. This game Clarke, this digging, it’s dangerous, we have to stop.”

“We have to stop what? I don’t understand what you’re saying, Wells.”

Clarke understood precisely what he was talking, she just couldn’t get herself to believe what he was asking of her.

Wells closed his eyes and opened them with fear flashing across his face.

He bent down to his feet and took out a beige folder and slid it across the table to Clarke, looking around for any apparent eyes on them.

Clarke looked at him curiously before opening the file with confusion.

_Case #319_

_…319_

She had been handed her dad’s case file.

It had gone missing and the precinct wouldn’t even acknowledge that. So the question that still remained was,

“Where did you find this?” she said, not able to remove her eyes from the text written on the paper.

Wells, still on edge, began shakingly.

“Last night, I was working a double shift, covering for a friend.”

Clarke listened attentively, all attention to him.

“I had to go into the file storage room, to finish the paper work for a solved case but the security guard would not let me in, saying there’s no entry after this hour or something. I found that odd and hence, frustrated, I went to my table to call Dad, he’s the captain after all, and I’m his son, moreover his best detective, they couldn’t keep me out right?”

Clarke nodded to Wells, who was part shivering and part stiff.

“So, I began dialing dad, when I heard the door to the storage room open and this old man wearing a coat walked out nodding his head to the security guard, to which he practically bowed. Then this man walks out and before I have a chance to ask to the guard who and what that was, he disappeared. Now that I think about it I don’t think I’ve ever seen that person here at the precinct before. He had a sharp jaw and he was tall a-and…” Wells began blabbering but Clarke put her hand on his shoulder to calm him not long after. This time he didn’t flinch, he merely looked at his coffee cup with terror.

“Wells…” Clarke began in a soothing voice, “…what the hell happened?”

The boy looked up with fear, as if he was reliving the moment then and there.

“I went in, after the guard disappeared, I went inside the storage room. At first I couldn’t find anything. Everything was normal, constant at their messy positions. Once I had gone over everything I began walking out, I was exiting the last lane when my eye caught it.”

Wells ducked more.

“Caught what?” Clarke furrowed her brows even more.

Wells looked at the file in Clarke’s hand.

“That.” He tensed up. “I saw that, sticking out just a little, I wouldn’t have even noticed it if I wasn’t looking at my laces, it was mere millimeters, but I saw it. I pulled the file out, and I didn’t even know it was your father’s until I opened it…but…”

He swallowed.

“But what?” Clarke was getting impatient.

“…there’s nothing there. It’s all been blacked out, the important details at least. The readable ones seem to be edited.” He confessed.

Clarke looked defeated.            

She sat back in her seat, her last shred of hope had been ripped from her.

She had finally believed she could do something, she had finally felt closer, she finally felt strong, but she was left empty.

Until she wasn’t.

“There’s something else.”

Clarke looked up with her ears listening attentively.

He took the folder from her hand and took out a couple of white papers bind together.

He flipped the pages until he stopped immediately and turned it around so Clarke could read.

Amongst the black censoring and clearly edited and changed details, there it was, written with a red pen, not very clearly.

_Azgeda is guilty. Heda isn’t safe._

“Azgeda?” Clarke looked up.

“Will you hush!? Their people are everywhere!”

Wells yelled in a hushed whisper.

“Wells, who are they?” Clarke enquired with a low tone. Now looking at the text again.

It seemed to be written in haste, as if someone was trying too hard to get a message across, while hiding or running from something.

“Dangerous people. Azgeda, as in the Ice Nation. Many have tried and failed time and again, to bring them down, but somehow, witnesses vanish, files disappear, evidence is lost, jury seems to be reading out a script and they have been convicted, but never proven guilty. They’re funded by Mount Weather corporations mainly. Of course they go to the company that has billions of branches and is known for it’s bad connections on the street, the fact that they have a service for almost anything helps t—“

“What did you say?” Clarke looked up.

Wells looked confused as ever.

“T-That they have billions of bra---“ he stuttered.

“Before that.” Clarke cleared.

“That they’re funded by Mount weather corporations?” He cocked a brow.

Clarke nodded slowly before turning back to the text.

_Azgeda is guilty. Heda isn’t safe._

She repeated the text in her mind over and over.

What could it mean?

_Azgeda is guilty. Heda isn’t safe._

_Azgeda is guilty. Heda isn’t safe._

Azgeda…Heda…what were these terms?

What did they have to do with Jake?

Her eyes widened in realization.

“Clar---?”

“You said Mount Weather funds the ice nation, right?”

She snapped her gaze up to meet his.

“Y-yeah but…” he hesistated, not knowing what he had enlightened in Clarke.

“Don’t they have one of their main headquarters right in the heart of Brooklyn?”

“Clarke i—“

“Do they?” she stressed.

“Y-yeah they do but why do y---“ he shook his head slightly.

Clarke smirked.

“Funds.” She turned the file towards Wells.

“What?” he cocked a brow.

 “What do you run a company on?” she tried to explain her point.

“I don’t know good leadership, teamwo---“ he began counting on his fingers until,

“Money.” Clarke cut him off.

“And who does Azgeda depend on for that?” She put her hands on the table.

“Mount Weather corporations.” Wells played along with her game.

“And where does mount weather get that money from?” she raised her brows in question.

“I don’t know, bad stuff? Drug sales? Trade deals?” he shrugged.

“Exactly!” Clarke exclaimed. “Trade deals. And any good company in the right mind knows to keep receipts, transcripts of every deal, every sale, every partnership. Transcripts that ho---“

“Hold each and every single detail of both the parties…” he completed her sentence with slightly wide eyes, seriously considering offering Clarke a job as a detective at the precinct.

She smiled.

“Now the only thing we need i—“ she began.

“No.” he looked her dead in the eyes.

“What?!” she crossed her arms.

“Clarke Jackson Griffin, I have known you since you were in diapers…” he started.

“You sound awfully familiar to aunt Callie y’know” she mocked.

“…and I know what’s going through your head.”  He clarified.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“We’re not going anywhere near this.”

“I never said w—“

“Neither are you.”

“Oh come ON!”

He leaned forward.

“These are dangerous people Clarke! You don’t know what they’re capable of, what they can do to you.  They’re bad people, it’s like they have little to no humanity. I’ve seen what they’ve done to my officers, promise me you won’t go anywhere near this, promise me you’ll stop digging further and let this go. Promise me…” he took her hand in his own.

“...Fine…I promise.” She sat back with a huff.

“Okay, good.” He leaned back and then stood up.

“I have to go to the precinct but I want you to go home and relax okay? Just don’t think about this for a while.” He straightened his coat and took up his briefcase.

“Yes, dad, I will.” She rolled her eyes.

He smiled softly.

“Bye, Clarke.” He hugged her from behind and left the bar.

Clarke stared absentmindedly at the table not even acknowledging the complimentary tequila shot the waiter left at the table.

She began mumbling to herself.

“Alright, Clarke. Just stay calm, no need to do something stupid. Just stay put, this is dangerous, no need to fuck shit up further.

Alright.

No need to fuck shit up.

No need at all.

No need to fuck shit up

No. Need. To. Fuck. Shit. Up.

Yeah I can do that!

_Noooo worrieees”_

She said as she took the tequila shot in her hand, looked at it for a moment and then took the whole thing down in one gulp.

Wincing at the pain she let out a cool breath to sooth her mouth.

“Yep…” she put the glass down with a small thud.

“Time to fuck shit up.” She said as she grabbed her phone and walked out the bar with haste.

 

 

Lexa woke up to the sound of very loud groaning.

Not the sex kind, but the i-will-kill-you-and-everything-you-love kind.

Till she heard a small explosion.

As if a car had backfired.

She walked out the door, rubbing her eyes.

“Wha—Anya?” she squinted her eyes.

There she stood, in all her coffee powder covered glory, smoke practically coming out of her ears. Fuming with anger, Anya looked ready to kill someone.

“What’s going on?” Lincoln came hastily out of his own room.

After taking in his surroundings a hushed “Oh no” was all he could muster.

He ran and grabbed Anya just before she pounced on the coffee machine on the counter at the center of the vicinity.

She was a wailing her arms around trying to escape the stronger boundaries around her, probably to throw the machine out of the window.

“LET ME GO! TODAY WAS THE LAST TIME! I’M GOING TO END THIS WITCHCRAFT OF A COFFEE MACHINE ONCE AND FOR ALL TODAY! LET GO, LINCOLN!” She screamed while Lincoln dragged her away.

Lexa simply stood, pinching the bridge of her nose.

She came around and used the broom to slide the coffee powder on the floor and the counter on to a tray and throw it away.

After cleaning up she saw Anya still breathing heavily, glaring in the direction of the machine from the couch, where Lincoln was trying to get coffee powder out of her hair.

Lexa sighed before she fixed the coffee machine (like she had millions of times before) and pressed two buttons to make a cup for her, Anya and Lincoln.

Bringing it over she handed Lincoln’s cup to him and he nodded in a silent thankyou before she handed Anya her cup.

She took it silently, still glaring, refusing to take her eyes off of the oh so complicated technology, as if it was too dangerous to be let out of sight.

Lexa breathed deeply.

“It’s been more than 3 years, An.” Lexa looked down to where Anya was sitting.

“That machine is a Satan’s spawn.” She continued taking a sip of her coffee, refusing to acknowledge how good it was.

“You’ve been a highly trained secret agent for 8 years, shot people in the head from 20 yards, have mastered various forms of fighting. I refuse to believe this little toy has outsmarted you.” she cocked a brow with an amused smile.

Anya slowly turned her head to Lexa and whispered.

“Like I said… _witchcraft…”_ she looked Lexa dead in the eyes

Lexa and Lincoln gave each other a glance and then broke out into a fit of laughter.

By the time Gustus and Indra had entered the area, both of them were almost teary eyed form laughing so much.

They stood cross armed next to each other, Indra bearing a look of disappointment while Gus wore an amused grin.

“What in the world are you three upto now?” she asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Anya pouted and sat back on the couch while the other two apparent “secret agents” were on the floor clenching at their stomachs.

“An—ahaha…oh god..hahah…anya got beaten by…ahh..the fucking…the fucking coffee machine.” Lincoln was almost wheezing.

“I DID NO---“ Anya began to protest until,

“Sure you didn’t Anya, whatever you say.” Gus said as he walked by the three heading into the kitchen like area in the middle.

Anya was gaping and turned to Indra who was clearly trying to hold back a laugh.

The laughter and fun went on for a couple of minutes before everyone calmed down a little and gathered at the table besides the kitchen to eat breakfast.

The jokes had passed, aside from Lincoln mocking Anya every once in a while.

With perfect pancakes made by Gustus himself, every one relished in their heavenly dishes.

“Mmmm, Jesus, boss. What do you put in these? Stars from the heavens above?” Anya spoke swallowing the first bite of her so called “pieces of paradise”.

“A magician never reveals.” He said as he sat down across from Lexa.

Everyone but Anya could feel the tension between the two, who was busy eating her food.

“So…the pancakes are wonderful, Augustus. Where’d you ge—“ Lexa tried. _Tried._

“Flattery is going to get you nowhere, Alexandria.” He said without looking up from his pancakes.

“But I got t---“

“Nor are the Mount Weather files gonna give you any help.” He looked up.

He saw as she stabbed at her pancakes in dissapopinment.

“But maybe coming to the meeting with Titus with me will.” He smiled continuing to look at his food.

He could practically feel her light up.

She looked up at him with a sparkle in her eyes.

His heart soared at how much the girl’s happiness meant to him.

“You should know you’re asking a lot of me Gus.”

He smirked up at her.

“But anything for you of course.” She completed.

“Good because I _cannot_ stand that man.” He groaned like a teenage girl.

Everyone burst out laughing. And Lexa took a moment to observe and cherish her chosen, imperfect family.

Which took her mind to Aden.

She was going to see him today.

She was finally going to see her little brother.

Her little brother who was currently in an entirely different situation.

 

 

“But how can you _not_ like chess!?” Zoran exclaimed with genuine shock.

Aden had an awkward eek expression on his face.

“I don’t know I ju---“ he began only to but cut off immediately.

 “It’s the most fun and mind challenging game in the world. How can you not _know_ how to play chess? I mean…” Zoran kept blabbering and went on and on about the way chess teaches long term strategy and how it enhances the mind or something. Aden didn’t really pay attention, he was way too busy staring at his boyfriend sitting across the table in a cute little café.

“…and not only do you have to think ahead for multiple moves, you als---“

“You’re adorable you know that?” Aden rested his head on his elbow and stared at Zoran with a small smile.

Zoran, blushing like a 5 year old, turned to look at Aden who too was admiring his face.

Zoran’s cute little nose, his short dark brown hair carefully raised to the side.

His pretty black eyes.

His jaw dropping jaw line.

His beautiful scar.

Zoran must’ve noticed.

He must’ve seen Aden glancing over the cut stretching across the left side of his face.

It was a faded scar, going from the corner of his lip to the middle of his cheek.

He must’ve felt his sapphire blue eyes gaze over the mark, because he turned to his left, in order to hide his scar.

Aden, without even a second of hesitation, gently took his face in his hands and turned it back.

“Hey…” he began.

“It doesn’t make me like you any less.” He comforted. “If anything, that mark is the most beautiful thing to me.”

Zoran tilted his head in confusion.

“It means you survived. It’s a reminder, that you went through all that, and still came out above as this…” he brought his other hand to cup his face and looked him top till toe.

“…this amazing person. And not that I need a reminder for it, but anything and everything that reminds me how amazing you are, is beautiful to me.” A soft smile spread across his face.

Zoran, again, with blush red cheeks, looked away before turning back to Aden.

He slowly leaned in, Aden following suit.

And both expressed their feelings through a soft kiss.

Feelings of affection.

Feelings of gratefulness.

Feelings of relief.

After the small but meaningful kiss, Aden kept 10 bucks on the table and walked out of the café holding hands with his boyfriend.

The two walked, hand in hand, smiling like idiots, until Aden felt a push and fell down in an alleyway.

“Aden!”

Zoran rushed to the boy, checking for any injuries. Finding nothing but a hit to his hip. Maybe a twisted ankle.

“Hey there, faggots!” a voice came, followed with laughter that seemed to be coming from two other people.

“John Mbege…” Aden said through gritted teeth, both with pain and anger.

“Glad you remember my name, twink.” He exclaimed the nickname, earning another laugh from the two followers.

“I told you we don’t want any trouble, just let us go and we wo—“ Aden winced, getting up with the help of Zoran.

“You won’t what huh?” he cornered the two boys against a wall, two other people closing in as well.

“You won’t what, princess?” he kept getting closer before…

“Actually I’m known to have that nickname.” The tall boy turned around along with his two dogs to find a certain blonde leaning against the red mustang, hands crossed over her chest shade slid up to her head, holding her hair back.

“And I think it suits me better, don’t you think?” she asked, now fiddling with her shades she took off of her head.

“and who the fuck might you be?” John stepped forward towards her.

“Clarke. Clarke Griffin. Since we are exchanging pleasantries, may I ask why exactly you are corning those two boys?” she leaned to get a better view of them, trying her best to contain her anger at looking at the blonde boys condition.

“Well, Clarke Griffin, why don’t you mind your own business, before we are forced to hurt that pretty face of yours, yeah?” He turned around to the two boys again.

“Now...”

“Actually…” she cut him off.

Aden and Zoran looked at each other and then back at Clarke with concern and fear in their eyes.

_What was she doing?_

_Why in the world did this one girl think she could challenge Mbege?_

One of the boys accompanying John stepped forward, getting closer and closer to Clarke.

He took her chin in his hands.

“What happened, blondie? Is it that time of the mo---“ his not so witty remark was cut off by Clarke. Rather roughly.

She took his hand on her chin and pulled him forward hard so that she head butted him in the face causing him to fall back holding his bleeding nose, while the other two bullies came to check on him.

“For the record?” she set her leather jacket and ran her fingers through her hair.

“I hate being called, blondie.” She huffed.

_Oh._

**_That’s_ ** _why._

“You bitch!” Mbege cried as he charged towards Clarke.

He swung a punch at Clarke, one that she dodged easily.

She grabbed his arm and hit his elbow, making a crack sound causing everyone but Clarke to wince, who kicked Mbege, who was crying in pain and holding his arm tightly, causing him to fall face first on the ground.

She turned around the third lanky boy, with his fists up, shivering, nonetheless.

She heard the rest two bullies limp and scamper away.

Clarke sighed deeply.

“Run. Before I break anymore bones, run and don’t ever come near these boys again. Oh! And tell your leader if I ever see his face again? His elbow wouldn’t be the only thing broken.”

“b-bu—“ he tried to protest.

“Go!”

And he didn’t need to be told twice, he clumsily sprinted away.

She turned to the two gaping boys and offered a small smile.

“You two look like you could use a ride. Come on.” She gestured with her hand.

The two boys looked at each other and then back at her.

Clarke rolled her eyes.

“Come on, I don’t bite. I know ‘Stranger Danger’ and all but you two are pretty beaten u—“ Clarke was cut off with two very warm hugs.

“Thankyou.” Aden mumbled into her shoulder.

“And yes.” He pulled back with Zoran. “We would love a ride.” He smiled.

 

 

“So…” Clarke tried to grab Aden’s attention who was sitting in the front seat.

He turned towards Clarke.

“What was that all about?” she tilted her head to the side without taking her eyes off the road.

“What? Oh no, nothing.” He looked away.

Clarke raised her brow.

She glanced and Aden and then pressed on his hip causing him to hiss in a breath.

“That? That doesn’t look like nothing, kiddo.”

He looked away, holding his arm.

There was a little silence and Clarke had begun to think he’d chosen to ignore her when,

“They’re bullies. From our school. There at least they can’t do as much damage, can’t have teachers finding out can we? But out here, they can do whatever they want without consequences.” His face was one of anger and sadness.

“What about your parents?” She asked.

Aden felt tears threatening to come up.

Clarke turned to Aden, watching the boy look out the window.

She noticed the sudden change of expression.

“Hey, kiddo, you okay?” She put a hand on his shoulder.

He flinched and turned to her, yet he didn’t pull away.

Something about this woman was comforting, warm, welcoming. He felt safe. He felt like he could trust her.

_Yes, ‘her’ being a random stranger on the street._

_-a random stranger that saved your ass mind you._

He internally argued.

“Wh-What? Oh yeah, I’m fine, just, um, my parents, they, uh…” Aden looked away again.

Clarke felt her heart break, her mind shifted to the thousands of pity conversations she had to have after her father’s death. She thought best to let the boy be.

“Hey, it’s alright. You don’t have to talk about it.” He nodded his head in a silent thankyou.

“Why do they bully you two?”

 

She attempted to get the boy to open up.

 

Aden took a deep breath, as if to confess something.

“You see him?” he cocked his head to the backseat, to where Zoran was fast asleep.

“He’s my boyfriend.” He huffed out.

“Yeah that was clear, what, with all the heart eyes you keep giving him through the mirror.” Clarke smirked.

“Y-yeah.” Aden blushed and smiled.

“Well, recently someone from school saw us kissing, and high school isn’t a place where secrets stay for very long. It spread like wildfire. And some of our friends were okay with it, but peer pressure and ragging, turned them too. We were forced to stay away from each other in school, at least to avoid getting beat up everyday like we used to…to keep him away from it all.”

Clarke’s grip tightened on her wheel, knuckles gone pale. She was trembling with anger, but tried to bite back all the profanities coming in her thoughts.

Instead she nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“We had been safe from people like him…until today…” he turned towards her.

“Thank you.” he bowed his head.

Clarke offered him a nod and a small smile in return.

After a moment or two it was Clarke who broke the silence.

“For the record?” she spoke as she rounded the corner to Zoran’s house.

“You two are adorable together.” She smiled.

Aden was blushing like an idiot, looking at anything but Clarke.

“Right there.” He pointed towards a little house, not so fancy looking, but homely nonetheless.

Clarke easily parked her car next to the curb.

Aden got out of the car and ran around to wake up his boyfriend.

Clarke could hear a few whispers and nothing else, and noticed Zoran nod and get up leaning on Aden till he reached his door, where Aden gave him a quick kiss before walking back to car with his hands in his pockets.

The sky had become a firey orange-pink mixture.

“It’s getting late.” Aden said as Clarke started driving in the direction he had pointed.

“…and?” Clarke enquired.

“Well, don’t you have some place else to be?” he asked hesitantly, as if he was hoping her to say no.

“You reaching home is more of a concern for me…” She began. “besides, I like your company.” She smiled.

The blonde boy with the messy hair grinned.

Aden entered the directions in maps and let Clarke drive te rest of the way.

 

“Huh? What?” Aden woke up with caution.

Clarke giggled.

“Relax, kiddo. Your house is about 2 turns away. Just thought I should wake you up.”

Aden nodded while rubbing his eyes.

“Though falling asleep in a stranger’s car may not be the best idea. I could be a serial killer for all you know.” She pointed out.

Aden grinned.

“I don’t think, a serial killer would have a packet of cheetos hidden in the glove compartment.” He pressed a button and the compartment opened to reveal cans of beer and said cheetos.

“Hey!” Clarke grinned back while shutting the compartment door.

“You sneaky little shit.” Clarke smiled.

Aden, with a wide amused smile, popped a cheeto into his mouth.

They drove for about 2 minutes before Aden asked Clarke to stop before a large gate.

Clarke hadn’t even noticed they had entered into the upper class part of Brooklyn. She was too busy admiring the sunset to see where maps was taking her.

Clarke mumbled a little “Holy shit” under her breath.

They had stopped in front of a large iron gates that read woods when closed.

Behind the gates Clarke could see a long driveway leading up to tall wooden doors, giving an entrance to a mansion that looked like it had been built for gods.

She was busy gaping at the paradise like place, when Aden cleared his throat, grabbing her attention.

“What? Oh yeah. You good to go?” she asked.

Aden simply smiled.

“Yeah.” He got out of the car and leaned against the window.

“I entered my number in your phone by the way.” He pointed to her phone. Clarke’s eyes widened. “And I have yours now.” He grinned.

“Why…and more importantly… _how_ …did you do that? I have a password to access it.” She picked up her phone, to check for any other way he could’ve unlocked the phone.

Aden wore an amused smirk.

“A magician never reveals.” He puffed out his chest.

And Clarke pouted.

“Well I have to thankyou somehow right? How was I supposed to do that without ever knowing you?” he grinned.

“Anyway, I’ll be heading in now, it’s getting dark, but, thank you, Clarke Griffin. I’ll see you around.”

Oh, he had no idea.

“You sure will kiddo.” She smiled softly.

He gave her a curt nod and then slipped inside, from between the gap in the two iron gates.

Clarke switched on her headlights and roared her engine, to head back home.

She had to prepare for tomorrow.

Little did she know, nothing could.

In the distance, the sound of a plane landing could be heard.

It was going to be an eventful week to say the least.

 


	2. A new hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa and Clarke finally cross paths and their night is nothing like what either expected it to be.

“Alright, landing in T-minus 60 seconds everybody!” Lincoln shouted from the cockpit with Indra by his side, unfortunately the crew had had bad memories with autopilot landing.

Lexa stared out the window from her seat as the plane descended vertically on top of the huge mansion.

She noticed a red convertible 1965 Mustang racing off, back of a blonde head in view as the hair went wild. She couldn’t help the low whistle that she let out.

“What? What is it?” Anya, ever the curious one, almost tore her seatbelt apart to see what had grabbed Lexa’s attention.

Lexa leaned back to let Anya see.

“Hot damn!” She said as she fell back on her seat.

“What’re nonsense are you two bickering about now?” A gruff sound came from the back.

Lexa and Anya both turned around at the same time to see Gustus with his hands interlinked on his stomach, with eyes closed, and posture still stiff, even in sleep, well, not now apparently.

“Lexa saw a hot Mustang driven by a hot blonde.” Anya piped up.

Gustus opened one eye at Lexa.

“Wha—i---I did not even mention the hot blonde, you’re the only one immature enough here to let such silly things distract you.” Lexa huffed and turned around cross armed.

“So you agree she’s hot.” Anya smirked from her seat.

Gus just watched the exchange with a cocked brow.

“I—“ Lexa began but was quickly cut off by a thud sound.

 _Finally_.

“Here we are, _Casa de Trikru.”_ Lincoln walked out with arms outstretched.

Lexa didn’t even remember the current discussion she was having.

All she could think about was Aden.

She was _finally_ going to see him again.

 _Finally_ feel at home again.

 _Finally_ hold her little brother again.

She practically ran out of her seat pushing aside Lincoln, the man with the biggest muscles and strength that of mountains, with ease.

Something that befuddled everyone in the area.

But Lexa didn’t care, because as the ramp door slowly opened, she could see Aden.

The same scruffy blonde hair.

The same spirited smile.

The same sapphire blue eyes that sparkled with happiness.

The same black sweater with jeans and converse.

The same old Aden.

Who didn’t change a bit.

Aden ran forward with all abandon as the ramp door touched the ground and bumped into Lexa holding her tight.

She was a little taken aback at first but the warmth of her brother made her forget all sense of worry.

He hugged her as tightly a 15 year old could to a highly trained special agent.

She let out a little chuckle.

The two woods siblings stood like that for a while.

“Hey there, dork.” She mumbled into his hair.

“I missed you.” Aden whispered, as thought he was holding back a sob.

“I missed you too.” Lexa said back.

Aden pulled back with a little smile and tears threatening to spill.

Lexa wiped a thumb over his cheek with a little comforting nod and he mirrored her actions.

“You’ve grown taller, shorty.” She said teasingly and genuinely.

“Yeah.” He laughed a breathy laugh. “Almost as tall as you.” He stood up on his tip toes.

“Now, now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.” She ruffled his hair.

“It’s good to have you back, Lex.” He looked into her eyes.

“It’s good to be back, Aden.” She sighed.

Lexa swung an arm around Aden and the two walked across the roof, staring at the sunset finally set, and went inside where everyone was already waiting.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Lexa and Aden went downstairs to the living room where everyone was sprawled out, very, very, happy to be sleeping on couches that weren’t 30,000 feet in the air.

She hugged Niylah, not much older than herself.

And then confided into Nyko’s arms, who was almost as big as Gus.

“It’s been too long since I’ve seen your pretty little face, Heda.” He mumbled into her head.

“Too long, Nyko.” She continued to hug him and ignored Anya shouting “Pretty? Where?” and getting hit by Lincoln with a pillow.

Aden on the other hand had already greeted Lincoln, Anya and Indra and was now going through a massive bear hug from Gus.

For a highly specialized killer, Augustus was quite affectionate.

“Hey there kiddo.” Gus had now picked up Aden and looked like he was about to break the skinny little thing.

“Hey Uncle Gus, could you put me down now?” He chocked out.

Once put down he panted a little before giving his own tightest hug back.

“I missed you guys.” He said.

“We missed you too, little bro.” Lincoln punched his arm.

Aden came around to settle in between Indra and Gus after hugging Indra as formally as he could, everyone had their tastes.

Everyone comfortably settled down in the space.

“I assume you two siblings have been keeping well and keeping this one away from trouble.” He ruffled Aden’s hair.

“Of course, we have! Haven’t you heard? We’re responsible adults now.” Niylah said as she fist bumped Nyko.

Gus pinched the bridge of his nose.

Aden looked away, no one noticed. Well almost.

Lexa had known him for 15 years, it was easy to know when the boy was hiding something, especially when his shirt lifted a little and Lexa saw purple bruising. She was infuriated, but decided to talk about it later.

“So Aden, how’s Zoran?” Indra asked out of the blue and Aden’s eyes widened.

“How’s who now?” Lexa’s gaze shot up to Aden while he laughed nervously.

“Zoran Dessert? Aden’s boyfrie….” She trailed off as she saw Aden with his head in his head.

“Aden’s _who_?” Lexa leaned forward.

“You didn’t tell me? I thought we we’re bros man.” Lincoln too leaned forward, arms spread out as if questioning why.

“AND YOU TOLD INDRA?!” Lexa stood up.

“Oh this is brilliant.” Anya laughed out but raised her hands up in surrender when everyone turned to glare at her.

Lexa took a deep breath and clasped her hands together.

“You told _Indra,_ and not _me_? Your own sister?” she asked with a dangerously calm smile.

“Sh-she gives really good relationship advice.” He stuttered out.

At this all heads turned towards Indra who looked up

“What are all of your foolish faces looking at? With your problematic attitude? You can’t even handle yourselves let alone another person. Aden needed help from someone to _better_ his relationship, not _destroy_ it so he came to me.” She shrugged.

All mouth were wide open except for Gus who whispered “damn.” under his breath with a smile.

Niylah noticed the obvious tension between everyone and decided to break it.

“Oh..kay, so everyone seems hungry, I should get dinner ready, help me will you brother dear?” and dragged Nyko by the hand in to the kitchen while he still gaped.

Within minutes of Lexa narrowing her eyes and Aden sinking further and further deeper into the couch, dinner was ready.

At the table, these matters were long forgotten; there were only laughs, smiles, old memories and new stories.

Soon after dinner, everyone hugged good night and went to their respective rooms, for some, the same rooms, for some, the same old rooms.

Aden, after everyone seemed to have settled into their respective beds, quietly made his way into Lexa’s.

He knocked once before peeking his head through the crack in the slightly open door.

“Lexa?” he looked around the room before finding Lexa, next to her suitcase unpacking.

She turned around, a smile on her face.

“Come in, dork, you’re already halfway there.” She laughed. Aden grinned and walked in, closing the door behind him. Wearing his favorite black pajamas and grey t-shirt.

“So…” he plopped down on Lexa’s bed. “What’s u---“

“When were you gonna tell me?” Lexa said without turning around.

“T-tell you what?” he hesistated.

She turned around and cocked a brow, when Aden raised his eyebrows in question and she sighed.

Lexa walked forward and lifted Aden’s shirt, sitting closer when he hissed.

Lexa growled, “Who did this?” she let go of the shirt.

“No one. No one that matters anyway, alright? It’s all over now, he won’t do it anymore.” Aden looked away. “Who?” Lexa hurled again.

“…John. John Mbege.” Aden looked away again, not wanting to make eye contact, but Lexa wouldn’t have it.

She took his face by the chin and slowly guided his gaze to her forest green one.

“Why?” she asked in a deathly calm voice.

“I-I don’t know, I mean I think it was because of Zoran, because I’m gay or I don’t---“ Aden stopped when he noticed Lexa trembling with anger.

He put his hand on hers which was clenching her shirt.

“I’m fine now, we taught him a lesson today. He won’t bother me anymore.” Aden assured her.

“’We’”? Lexa cocked a brow.

“Yeah this really nice woman helped me today. But the important thing is, that you don’t do anything. It’s been settled, alright. I’m okay, Lexa.” He comforted.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked with concern flashing across her eyes.

“Because I knew you were gonna make sure to bury him alive or something, and I didn’t want my only sister to go to jail.” Aden sent a small smile her way.

Lexa mirrored his actions, she gently cupped his face and kissed his forehead.

“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?” Lexa let out a breathy chuckle.

“I’m positively aware of that, yes.” Both the Woods siblings laughed freely.

They talked for hours that night, catching up on each other’s life.

Aden, not knowing what exactly Lexa did for living and how many deaths were on her hand, was mostly the one talking and Lexa was content to just listen to him fangirl about Zoran.

They both fell asleep in each other’s arms, like they did all the time, before everything happened, before everything was gone.

Lexa knew she had to take back what was her’s.

She had to avenge her parents.

As dramatic as it sounds, she had only one purpose, that was to destroy the entire Queen empire and burn it to the ground.

She had to, for her parents, for Aden, for everything she had ever cared about.

But that was a worry for the morning, though it never left her mind, right now all she really cared about was her little brother who snuggled closer to her, all she cared about was protecting him, all she cared about was holding him close and never letting go.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

It was all ready to go. Her backpack hidden on the roof.

Gear packed up.

She had spent the night researching as much as she could about the Mount Weather HQ, and now she was stuck with one and only one problem.

“No mom, I can’t have dinner with you tonight.” She huffed.

“What? No! It’s not because I have a male companion coming over.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Okay, mom.”

“Bye!”

“Yes, yes, I got it.”

“Cool, bye!”

“Yep.”

“BYE MOM!”

Clarke clicked the disconnect button.

She sighed a little.

She could break a knee, take down three men on her own, and was literally going to break into the headquarters of an enormous company that funded an underground drug cartel.

But her mother’s overly protective antics were something that tested her patience to this day.

Keeping her phone beside her laptop she continued searching for whatever she could find online, trying her best to concentrate.

Unfortunately, peace was a non-existent concept in the Skaikru Bachelor Pad.

Raven pretty much busted her door open and began rambling, like she always did.

“Hey Clarke, did you s---“ Raven noticed Clarke hastily closing her laptop and keeping it away.

“Y-Yeah?” Clarke stared at Raven nervously.

Raven grinned.

“Clarke…” she began with a childish grin. “You’re a grown woman, you don’t have to hide your porn.” Raven teased.

Clarke rolled her eyes.

“I was not watching porn. But regardless I’m guessing this particular topic isn’t what you came here to discuss?” she folded her arms.

“NO-ho, I came here to talk about something completely different, but you seem to be a little busy…with yourself.” She smirked.

“I hate you.” Clarke pouted.

“You love me.” Raven grinned. “Anyway, I was gonna ask, have you seen Octavia all day?” Raven plopped down on Clarke’s bed.

“Uh, no. Isn’t she supposed to be at her kickboxing class?” Clarke swung around on her chair.

“Yeah, she is.” Raven broke into a sly smile. “but with her hangover I doubt she’ll even be able to stand rather than throw a punch.” She began looking for something on her phone.

“How do y----“ Clarke was cut off by Raven flashing her phone in her face.

“Just swipe, I dare you.” Raven leaned back on to the pillow.

“Holy shit.” Clarke muttered under her breath.

There were pictures of Octavia, not very…PG rated. With…was that….

“ _Atom?!”_ Clarke looked up with wide eyes.

“Yep.” Raven tried to hold back the burst of laughter bubbling up within her.

“Like, Bellamy’s apprentice Atom? Swooning after Octavia in college Atom?” Clarke tried to prove it wrong. She really tried.

“Yep, Yep, Yep.” Raven continued grinning.

“Oh my god.” Clarke turned back to the screen and Raven finally let out her laughter.

“Ah, yeah, I got these last night around 2 AM and a few text messages this morning telling me that she had a really bad hangover. She remembers nothing.” Raven grinned an evil grin. “Too bad I’m never gonna let her forget again.” She wiggled a brow.

This was when a click sound was heard and the sound of heels and the smell of alcohol and regret could be felt through the house.

They saw Octavia drag herself through the hallway, right in front of Clarke and Raven from the open door, and in her own.

They heard the door shut, gave each other a wicked smile, and then rushed to her room.

“Hey, roomie.” Raven popped her head through the door and then walked in with Clarke. Both the girls sat on each side of the bed where Octavia was sprawled out face first.

The only reply they got was in the form of muffled groans coming from Octavia.

“Morning to you too, sunshine.” Clarke teased.

“Both of you go away before I make you.” She grumbled into the pillow.

“Oh is that what you said to poor Atom to get him into bed last night?” Raven gave her a knowing look.

“I what?” Octavia lifted her head and her eyes widened at the pictures flashing in front of her eyes. She grabbed the phone from Raven’s hand and quickly swiped through all the pictures.

Clarke and Raven merely grined at each other.

“oh no.” muttered Octavia.

“oh _yes.”_ Raven corrected.

“Oh would you look at that, Octavia, I always knew you were flexible but not…” Clarke began only to be cut off by,

“No no no no no _no_. It’s all coming back now, the bar in the east side, the drunk reunion, oh god no, I sneaked out of someone’s living room today, I was alone, it couldn’t be…no.” Octavia held her head, suddenly feeling very dizzy.

“This is fucking fantastic.” Raven broke out into a fit of laughter and almost fell of the bed.

While Clarke, ever the caring one, was snickering and trying her best to hold back a laugh and comfort Octavia.

“No….” Octavia sat dumbfounded.

“I think we should Octavia with herself for a little while.” Clarke said as she dragged a teary eyed from laughter Raven out of the room.

“Why? So she can think about all the _goooood_ sex they had last night?” At that Octavia threw a pillow at them as Clarke closed to the door.

Clarke and Raven burst out laughing and fell on the floor, with Clarke long forgotten the impending fatal mission she had taken up.

Not completely forgotten though.

Never completely forgotten.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Lexa woke up to Aden all snuggled up with her. His innocent looking face made Lexa involuntarily smile.

She felt a wave of happiness wash over her as the familiar warmth of her little brother spread through her.

Aden woke up to Lexa’s smile.

He rubbed his eyes adorable in a way that made Lexa melt.

“Lexa Woods smiling? What magical thing has made this happen?” He buried his face deeper into the pillow.

“Oh nothing just when you’re sleeping, the world seems to be a _much_ calmer place. Nothing else.” She smirked.

Aden snickered. “Asshole.” Lexa gasped.

“Is that how you talk to your sister?” she feigned disbelief.

“Answer me, Aden.” Lexa looked straight into Aden’s blue eyes.

“No…” Aden shifted with fear.

“ _Yes.”_ And then Lexa, with all her energy, tickled Aden until he was a crying, laughing mess.

“Okay! Okay! I’m sorry!” He begged while still…laughing.

“See that’s the spirit.” Lexa chuckled.

The Woods siblings laughed for a while until they heard frantic knocking.

“Alexandria! Wake up! You and Gus have the meeting in 10 minutes!” Nyko’s voice could be recognized from miles away.

Lexa rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Guess I gotta go.” She ruffled Aden’s hair.

“I gotta go out too. See you at night?” He asked hesitantly. He had gotten used to coming home and having Lexa vanish without a trace to many times to not ask.

Lexa smiled softly.

“See you at night.” Aden smiled at the assurance and ran back to his room.

Lexa on the other hand hastily got ready in her black combat boots, ripped black jeans and her black leather jacket (god knows why her favorite color was red.) with a plain white t-shirt.

Her brunette hair were flowing naturally with some braids here and there.

Pretty much running across the giant mansion, Lexa burst open the door of the conference room with a piece of toast in her mouth.

She was relieved to be there before the Skype call began, Gus wasn’t.

He was impatiently tapping his foot with his arms crossed over his crisp grey suit.

Lexa laughed nervously through the bread and Gus pinched the bridge of his nose.

Both of them stiffened at the sudden ringing noise. A habit they had taken up over time in the filed.

The large screen at the end of the room was waiting to be answered.

Gus walked towards it and Lexa followed suit.

Gus, with his hand hovering over the laptop slowly turned to Lexa and said, “Get rid of the goddamn toast, Alexandria.” And pressed accept as Lexa hastily threw the toast in the nearby dustbin with precise aim.

The screen now showed the face of a bald man that Lexa could recognize anywhere. Titus was truly terrifying.

“Augustus. Alexandria.” He nodded his head in respect as the two agents did the same.

“Sir.” Gus and Lexa both stood with their hands joining in front of them.

“I assume you’ve gotten the information we have sent, Sir?” Gus only answered to one person.

“I have.” Titus said with an emotionless tone.

Gus raised a brow and Lexa furrowed hers in confusion.

“So…I assume we’ll be leaving for the headquarters within this week? I believe today would reap the best possible outcome consideri---“ Gus had only begun to explain when

“We won’t be invading the headquarters.” Titus interlinked his hands.

Lexa couldn’t have it. They risked everything for this, for this one mission to begin defeating Queens. She and countless others had gone far beyond limits for this.

“What? Why?” Lexa crossed her arms on her chest, clearly angry.

Gus glared at her to make her stop, but hell hath no fury like an angry Lexa Woods.

“Because, Agent Woods” Titus tried to establish his authority with a firm voice. “There is not nearly enough information for you to go in hot with one of the most wanted criminal gangs in our list, I will not risk my teams and troops for something that may very well go terribly south.” He declared.

“We have risked our lives for this!” she slammed her hands on the long table in the middle of the room.

“And you would be risking many more if we lead a team straight into the hands of the highly protected building. Risking and _failing_ might I add. This discussion is over, Woods. And as far as your team is concerned, Commander? Trikru will be off duty for the next month. You need a little time to…reevaluate…your actions.” And with that Titus cut the call.

Gus knew better than to approach Lexa while she was _fuming_ with anger. He still tried.

“Lexa, liste---“ he couldn’t have expected to go further than that could he?

“We have gone far and wide for these files…” She had only begun.

“I know, Lexa, he ju—“

“We have put our team in danger! In life risking situations! Sent them on fatal invasions! For what?! For staying off duty for a month?!” She turned around to face him.

“I…”

“It has taken everything out of us to get even a single trail on Azgeda, and now that we have he wants us to stay put?! That’s bullshit and you know it! Better than anyone.” She calmed a bit on the last part. Alex was close to Gus too, she knew that. He too wanted to exact revenge for what had happened, but it seemed he was more rational than his anger driven Commander.

He was also more speechless, considering how he now stood still.

“I’ll show him how I reevalute my actions.” Lexa said as she stormed out of the room, all attempts to stop her, seemingly useless for Gus.

She had to leave, she had to prepare.

She had a heist to plan.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The evening arrived faster than Clarke had anticipated. Making the excuse of working at the gallery all night, she somehow escaped the interrogation from Raven and Octavia, though the pair was a little busy, considering how Raven was only planning her own funeral by cracking jokes about Atom.

Clarke, smiled at the thought of her friends, now in her red beast, racing through the streets of Brooklyn.

She only had one place in mind, only one aim. To get those receipts.

Clarke didn’t know what she was doing exactly. All she knew was she finally had a lead, finally had a trail and there was no way she was gonna let this go.

All she needed now, were those transcripts.

 Transcripts that would give a little idea about this Azgeda or Heda. Because whoever they were, had something to do with her dad’s death, and she was more than determined to find out what it was.

If anything, those trade details might just get her leverage on Mount Weather, help her negotiate for the truth. Just get some direction.

But that didn’t matter, all she could think about right now, were getting those files and finally getting some clarity on what the fuck happened, and she was intent on doing so.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 _Blueprints?_ Check

 _Security codes?_ Check.

 _Gun?_ Loaded.

_Keys? In ignition._

_Gloves? On._

_Gear?_  Under the leather jacket.

Making mental notes, Lexa swung her leg around her matt black Harley Davidson and turned the keys to make her roar like she always does.

Before anyone, could notice her absence, she put on her helmet and soared away to the one place she knew held all the answers. She hopped, at least.

She knew Gus wouldn’t support this, and she wasn’t going to risk Anya’s and Lincoln’s lives over a hunch. It was only befitting that she do this alone, she had to. She had waited too long and gone through too much to stay out now that they finally had a lead.

Alas, she was in fact surrounded by other highly trained agents.

As she rode away on her motorcycle, a set of eyes followed her movements.

“Oh god, Lexa, no.” Anya mumbled to herself, before running to Gus, Indra and Lincoln.

Angry and irrational Lexa made stupid decisions.

Angry and irrational Lexa was going to get herself killed.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Clarke parked under the building next to the tall glass figure.

It was abandoned and seemingly destroyed by the fire it was once on.

She quickly made her way to the roof and began opening up her backpack.

She had planned it out. The weary old building was small compared to the 21 floored glass structure next to it. Though it was tall enough to reach the fifth floor, right next to the storage room, according to the blueprints Murphy gave her. He was the assistant architect for that building and growing up with a strict warden in the orphanage he was used to sneaking things out.

Clarke gave him a vague answer about why she needed them, something about learning to draw building structures or whatever, she didn’t even remember at this point.

She needed to focus on right now.

She took out one of the many gadgets she found in her dad’s old box. Him being an engineer and everything came with an obsession with tech.

She took out the gun like device (which looked more like a toy gun in her opinion. Her father really should’ve taken designer lessons) and fired at the small square like window.

A net sprung out and landed on the glass pane and spread out in a giant circle.

_1…2…3…and…_

Clarke heard the quite sizzling noise she expected and a circle melted into an entrance.

“Huh…neat.” Clarke shrugged. Now only to wait for 10:30pm.

Clarke was about to turn to set her things in her backpack when she heard a roaring sound.

She looked down to see a Harley Davidson as black as the night and as sexy as the rider seemed to be.

Brown hair were flowing with the wind and whoever she was rode the beast behind the Mount Weather building, like she was flying.

Clarke couldn’t help the low whistle that she let out.

_Oh the irony._

A few seconds after the bike disappeared and Clarke’s eyes still searched for the sight of the brunette again, her watch began to beep.

She lifted her wrist to look at her father’s old, broken yet somehow still working watch.

10:30. Exact.

Time for the last of the staff to leave.

Time to go.

She quickly put on her backpack and took a little leap onto the giant circle.

Time to do this.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Lexa stopped the bike in an alleyway a couple of blocks away from the Mount Weather HQ, in the backstreets, hoping none of the guards at the back would notice her.

She looked at her phone.

 _10:30pm. Perfect._ (also many missed calls from Anya and Lincoln that she chose not to acknowledge)

Seems like Clarke wasn’t the only one who had the same idea.

Lexa sneaked around in the shadows until one of the two guards at the back door bid the other goodbye and left. A few moments after, Lexa took out her silencer and shot the guard from about 20 yards away, straight in his neck, and he fell with a quite thud. Lexa hastily dragged the buff man and dumped him behind the garbage bin with ease.

She had the strength and she needed no reminder.

With that cue, she slowly slipped inside the doorway.

On closing the door, she hadn’t expected the sound to be so loud.

“Clint, that you?” a gruff voice came from a room behind the backstairs.

_Fuck._

She couldn’t just climb up the stairs, right into building, though no one would be there. It was still risky.

 _Ding_.

She heard a elevator like sound.

She turned around to see a small cargo lift.

_Perfect._

She heard footsteps approaching, “Clint?” the voice came again.

She quickly made her way into the lift which closed just before the man arrived.

Thankfully he turned around and left when he saw no one, or otherwise, Lexa, who was now staring from the barred door, would be in the hold of a very scary looking giant.

She noticed how all the guards and security were buff and huge.

It wasn’t possible for even a multimillion dollar company to find this much muscle, even with an underground drug cartel.

All her thoughts vanished when she heard another ding.

_Here we go._

The lift opened to reveal a 20 something woman, who still looked young and scared, surrounded by paintings, something , Lexa realized now, she was surrounded by as well.

The girl turned even paler than she already was naturally. She began to walk backwards.

“That’s right, nice and slow, back up, step by step.” Lexa, with her gun pointing at her straight between the eyes, as a scare tactic of course, the girl didn’t look like she could do much harm.

The girl could barely talk as Lexa slowly stepped out of the lift.

“That’s good. Now, what’s your name.” Lexa asked with the gun held still.

“M-maya.” She said with her hands held up.

“Alright, Maya, there’s no need to be scared, I’m not gonna kill you, as long as you cooperate, yeah?” Lexa felt a little bad for the innocent girl who probably didn’t even know what was going on, or who she was really working for.

Maya merely nodded.

“Okay, now, which floor am I on?” Lexa enquired.

“T-the fif-fth floor.” She struggled to form words with a gun between her eyes.

“Okay, how can I get to the seventh floor, Maya?” Lexa tried her best comforting voice, the gun still not wavering from it’s position.

“There’s no one in the office, y-you can just go and take the main stairway to the 7th floor, no one uses the stairs mostly anyway.” She tilted her head in the direction of a door at the end of the room, seemingly more composed now.

“Thankyou, Maya.” Lexa put her gun down, and Maya seemed relieved at that as she put her hands down.

“But I’m afraid it’s time for you to sleep.”

“Wha---“ She was cut off with a hit on the head. Lexa knocked her out with one swing of her gun.

She hid the girl’s unconscious self behind a couple of boxes, thought she did wrap a piece of cloth she found on the floor around her wound, hoping it would hurt less when she woke up.

She couldn’t take any risks with witnesses, but she really did feel bad for the girl.

She opened the door, and as told the hallways were empty and silent, not a soul in sight and the stairs were barren, like told.

_Oh poor girl._

But sadness was for later, Lexa had a mission to complete.

She didn’t even know what it was anymore, all she knew was, that she had to get something out of here today, something worth all the life risking shit she just went through. Something, anything, at all. She needed something valuable and she was hell-bent on getting it.

That she knew for sure.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“She _what?”_ Gus banged his hands on the table and stood up.

Indra merely sighed, she had seen this happen billions of times before. Lexa had made being reckless a hobby.

“She left about 30 mins ago.” Anya said as both her and Lincoln, unofficial supervisors for Lexa, stood infront of the two authority figures with their heads dipped and hands joined in shame.

“Why didn’t you care to inform us of this _then_?” Gus growled.

“B-because we thought we could call her and get her to stop.” Lincoln mumbled, eyes still stuck to the ground.

“And? Did you?” Indra crossed her arms over her chest.

“No. She ignored all our calls.” Anya shook her head.

Gus simply grumbled something under his breath.

“If I would have to conduct a rescue mission, I would have to consult Titus and he would never agree to it. Even if he did it would take hours for a team to assemble for us to ambush the Mount Weather Headquarters.” Gus was running the gears in his head, thinking of solutions.

“Then don’t.” He turned around to Indra’s voice.

“Don’t what?” Gus raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t consult Titus, if this is an unofficial heist, there shall be an unofficial rescue mission.” Indra stated, looking Gus dead in the eye.

Gus’s eyes only went wider at Indra, who was all for protocol and rules.

“O-Okay.” He was still processing this information.”Anya, Lincoln.” He said without removing his eyes from Indra who was now smirking at Gus’s reaction.

The two agent were now suddenly attentive, sharing knowing grins of their own.

“Get Polis ready to go, we have an agent to rescue.” He smirked back at Indra and the two agent were off with a boost.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Okay okay okay think, Clarke!” The blonde whispered to herself.

She couldn’t just walk into the hallway from the storage room. Even though it would be empty, it would be too risky. And she couldn’t take anymore of those.

_Now how does one get to the 7 th fl—_

She looked up.

_The vent!_

_Of course!_

Smirking at her own intelligence, Clarke began climbing the shelves to get to the ceiling and then make her way two floors up.

She really shouldn’t have skipped gym the past week.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Woah!” Lexa quietly whispered to herself.

The 7th floor, unlike any other, didn’t open into a hallway, it had a door next to what Lexa assumed to be the actual elevator. And inside the door was something even more suprising.

“Holy shit.” She whispered as she walked through halls and halls of white walls and a few paintings and little decorative pieces here and there, but other than that, nothing else.

The floors, the walls, the ceiling. Everything was a blinding white. It took Lexa a couple of moments to actually adjust her eyes to it.

But once she had she made her way as fast as possible through the hallways, to where she knew all her solutions lay, and it was also very much possible that either the body had been found or Maya had awoken.

Regardless of what it was she had very little time, and a lot of searching to do.

She hastily made her way through every hall, looking for something, running here and there for a single entrance way. It was a good five minutes before Lexa finally came across it.

A door, in the distance, white, and barely noticeable, probably for good reason.

Without wasting anytime she rushed in and stood in awe of what she saw.

Valubles, of every kind.

Tanks and tanks of a red colored liquid. And bars and bars of gold.

_Thud._

She turned around attentively at the small sound but decided to ignore it.

_Red._

She had heard about this, apparent drug, that MW was selling.

Something about it making you invincible in some ways reached her ears but that issue was not her concern in this very moment.

In this very moment, her concern was that she could not see papers of any sort in this locker room that she had ended up in. Only drugs, gold, and money. Of much importance, but not to Lexa.

What Lexa wanted was nowhere in sight, and the room didn’t leave much space to search.

And then she heard it.

_Fuck._

Footsteps, running with high speed, probably towards her.

_No time._

She had to turn and leave.

She mentally cursed herself.

Leave again without anything useless or anything that mattered.

Well…almost.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

_Thud_

Clarke fell on the floor with a small sound and hoped to god no one heard her.

A few rubs on her neck and multiple attempts to replace the vent back later Clarke finally decided to just fuck it and hung the vent over a piece of art that she found horribly ridiculous.

“Well, the vent looks better anyway.” She thought to herself.

And _now_ she took in her surroundings.

White. So much white.

It was open yet a little suffocating.

Art, some that Clarke admired and some that she dreaded, was hung everywhere and little decorative pieces were here and there.

“Woah!” she whispered.

While she was still busy admiring the empty hallways, they turned out to not be so empty anymore.

“Over here!” she heard a gruff voice call out followed by many footsteps, of what Clarke assumed to be at least 7 guards.

“Shit.” She hissed as she took a sharp turn and waited for them to pass.

After the footsteps seemed to fade away she slowly started backing away from the vent decorated hallway only to bump into someone.

And did what her instincts had always told her to do.

It all happened so fast that Lexa barely had time to comprehend what was going on.

She ran out of the room, as fast as she could, and then the footsteps came closer, so she turned the direction, and started backing away from the sound of the footsteps prior and _bump._

And her gun was now in front of a blonde that was mirroring her actions.

But with her gun leading her view, blonde hair was all she could see.

Though when she moved her gun to the side she saw them.

Blue. Rich blue eyes staring into her own.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Clarke mumbled out, currently too lost in emerald eyes to focus.

And with that Lexa was pulled back into her hostile, battle ready posture.

“You don’t want to hurt _me?”_ She scoffed. “I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with, Princess.” Lexa smirked.

“ _Princess?!_ Who the hell do you think you are anyway? Some kind of low paid guard here at this witch coven?“  Clarke shot back, not literally of course.

“Witch coven? Now, now. Is that anyway to talk about your workplace?” Lexa clicked her tongue.

“I actu----wait a minute… _my_ …workplace?” Clarke asked, clearly befuddled.

“Y-Yeah, is it…no--?” Lexa’s question was quickly cut off with,

“Duck.” Clarke shifted the position of her gun.

“What?” Lexa asked, now hearing the footsteps.

“ _Duck!”_ Clarke loaded her gun as Lexa did as instructed and fired three shots behind her.

Lexa turned around to find two guards on the ground and more on their way after the very loud noise.

“Fuck…” Clarke whispered as she lowered her gun, while Lexa just looked at her in awe.

“Over there!” the two girls heard more figures approaching.

“Run.” Lexa said as she sprinted, grabbing the blonde by her wrist, sending a chill through both their spines.

But being in a life threatening shootout may have forced them to not acknowledge it.

After minutes of being chased around the place and shooting and being shot at, the two finally came to a dead end, only a window at the end.

“Shit.” Clarke whispered, running her hand through her blonde curls.

“Urgh!” Lexa hissed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ignore the sounds of the guards looking for them.

“Okay, okay look.” Lexa began, trying to convince herself more than her strange company.

“If we can find a way down my bike should be right the---“ Lexa froze.

Her love. Where it was supposed to be waiting for her. Was gone. Vanished.

Probably taken by these Ice Nation fucks.

What Lexa didn’t realize was that she said all of this out loud and now stood before Clarke who raised an eyebrow at her and crossed her arms.

“Oh shut up! If you saw her you’d be in deep despair too.” Lexa began looking at the absence of her Harley again, hoping it would show up.

And then Clarke remember.

“Wait a minute, _you’re_ the hot bike chick?” Clarke asked, now fully realizing what she had said.

“I’m the _what?_ ” Lexa stood straight again.

“N-nothing,” Clarke felt blush rising to her cheeks. “Wait a second” Clarke looked down from the window.

“…oh my god…of course…why didn’t I remember before?” Clarke smacked herself on the head.

“What?” Lexa asked, again.

“Do you trust me?” Clarke asked, looking dead into the green eyed girls soul.

“Huh? I don—“ Lexa cocked a brow.

Both of their heads turned at the sound of footsteps running and a very loud “They’re over here! Come on!”

“I said, do you trust me?” Clarke began to put her gun in her holster.

“I don’t know, I jus---“

“Doesn’t matter, because you kinda have to.”

“What? Why?” Lexa could hear the footsteps now.

“Because there’s only one way out of this now.” Clarke pulled her backpack closer to her.

“And what’s that?” Lexa started to mirror Clarke’s actions.

“There they are! Shoot boys!” Lexa saw some guards turning the corner and then turned back to Clarke.

Clarke merely smirked at her and then did something only crazy person would do.

“Jump!” She exclaimed as she literally broke through the glass and Lexa watched as she not so carefully landed on a roof not more than two floors down.

“Hey!” Lexa screamed after Clarke but she was already on the roof signaling for Lexa to jump.

“Stop right there.” Lexa turned around to see more than 5 guns aimed at her and heard more incoming.

“Don’t move and no one will have to get hurt.” One of the guards said.

Lexa raised her hands in surrender.

“Jump!” Clarke shouted and Lexa turned her head to see Clarke screaming at the top of her lungs, yet only audible enough for her to hear.

“Jump if you wanna live, hot biker chick!” Lexa smiled a little at the strange name.

“Look, we can do this quietly or harshly. Now I suggest you slowly put your gun down and come with us.” The guard repeated, now more had gathered.

Lexa was only bending down to keep her gun on the ground, when all the security seemed to have let down their guard, Lexa took the only moment she knew she had and took a leap of faith.

One second the glass shards were paining a little, the next she was flying through the air and the third she was falling onto the blonde she had just met.

“Come on! We need to go get them!” the two girls heard them shout as they retreated. Probably on their way here, but both were too engaged with themselves in their own way.

As both of them lay panting on the roof beside each other, there was a different outlook for either, one could say.

“We jumped out a window…” Lexa whispered.

“…WOO!” Clarke raised her hands in the air.

“…onto a roof we didn’t even know was there.” Lexa was still in a little shock, you could say.

“THAT WAS THE MOST BADASS THING I’VE EVER DONE.”

“…out of a fucking window.”

“Now come on.” Clarke stood up looking for her keys.

“…we jumped…out of a window…” Lexa held her head.

Clarke heard a jingling noise and her face lit up.

“Got it, now come on, they’re on their way.” Clarke began walking towards the staircase.

Lexa raised a brow at the sky.

“And how do you expect us to escape them if not shoot our way through?” Lexa sat up and looked at Clarke.

Clarke, who simple gave Lexa a sly smirk before pulling out her keys.

“Care for a ride?”

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“ _You’re_ the hot car chick?” Lexa exclaimed, quickly realizing what she had said.

“I’m the _what_?” Clarke smirked, she heard her, loud and clear.

“N-nothing.” Oh the similarities.

“Hop in.” Clarke said as she jumped into the driver’s seat, while Lexa gave her a questioning look as she opened the door in a very civilized manner and sat down.

“…Oh well what’s the fun in that?” Clarke pointed out.  


“Ju---“ Lexa was cut off with what seemed to have become her daily schedule.

Bullets were flying everywhere. Some ricocheted off of the Mustang causing Clarke to gasp and curse at the cars in the distance.

She stood up on her seat. “Oh you fuckers! You motherfucking bastards! I’ll sh---“ Before Lexa pulled her down.

“Drive!” She reminded her.

And with that Clarke turned the keys in the ignition and they were off with a screeching noise.

Clarke was up to 100kmph within 3 seconds and flying through the city.

A bullet grazed Clarke’s arm causing the car to lose control for a mere second.

“Fuck!” Clarke said as she grabbed her arm.

This was where Lexa lost it.

She didn’t know what it was that came over her.

Was it…protectiveness?

Whatever it was, as soon as she heard the sound of pain in the blonde’s voice, her drive suddenly changed from survival to anger.

While the cars raced through the streets of Brooklyn, Lexa, turned around on her seat and with pistols in both her hands and fired at the cars behind them.

_Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!_

And with that two of the many cars chasing them lost control, taking a couple out with them.

Clarke turned around to see the scene unraveling behind her and simply drove ahead in awe of the stranger she had just encountered.

“Holy shit…” She whispered to herself, eyes still on the road, hoping the other girl didn’t hear her.

Lexa’s smirk would suggest otherwise.

She sat back down trying to reload her gun, when suddenly they felt a shadow over coming them.

Not the figurative one, the literal one, around them was this dark shadow of something that was far bigger than the car, or all cars combined on the road together.

Both the girls looked up.

“Shit.” Lexa whispered.

“What in the world is that?” Clarke looked back on the road, driving at full speed.

Lexa sighed and sat back with a huff on her seat.

“My next lecture.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Wha— _Woah!”_

Yep. This was officially unreal.

Clarke could no longer feel the tires against the road.

She could no longer feel the wind in her hair.

And that was because she was in the air.

Literally off the ground.

Which is when she noticed the four hooks that had found their way around the mustang, and how the black SUVs chasing them were getting smaller and smaller, the shots being fired at them from beneath, and the brunette’s very unsurprised look.

Clarke simply gaped at the green eyed girl who seemed unbothered by it all.

“Not my first time, princess.” Lexa rolled her eyes.

Clarke opened her mouth to say something against the newly found nickname when they felt a jolt and a ladder popped down.

Lexa, still unsurprised and visibly annoyed, started climbing first, noticing Clarke’s hesitation.

“Oh and where else do you suppose you’re gonna go?” Lexa pointed out and started climbing again.

Clarke hated the fact that the brunette was right.

Both of them began climbing and near the end a bump caused Clarke to fall over on Lexa, making both of them tumble on the floor in front of the small audience that had gathered.

“Ow!” While Lexa slowly got up rubbing her neck she heard a familiar click sound.

“Who are you?”

Clarke had her gun pressed against the back of Lexa’s head, pressing hard. Lexa had her hands raised up which is when she heard similar other sounds.

Clarke now had four other guns pointed at her.

Indra, Gus, Anya and Lincoln all were in firing position and it would’ve been stupid of Clarke to think she could shoot her way out of this.

She slowly moved the gun away and raised her hands.

While Lexa with a smirk plastered on her face turned around and took the gun from Clarke’s hand.

“More like who are _you?_ ” she said with a victorious grin.

Clarke was now suddenly very aware of all the eyes on her.

Also of exactly where she was.

Of course she ends up on a giant spaceship with pistols pointed at her.

_Of course._

_“_ And _why_ should I tell you?” Clarke tried to establish some sense of power.

_Tried._

Lexa let out a breathy laugh.

“Because I don’t really think you’re in a position to negotiate, princess.”

But alas green eyes got the best of her.

“Now, blondie, answer the goddamn question, who are you?” Anya clicked her gun and Lexa glared at her, making her step back.

 What the fuck was going on? Why was she feeling uneasy when the guns were pointed at the stranger? Why did she feel like the guns were at her instead? Where was this sense of protectiveness coming from?

Clarke sighed, she really was outnumbered. But there was no way she was gonna tell possible murderers or gangs anything about her.

“Well?” Lexa raised her brows.

“B-brittany.” Clarke mumbled out.

_Brittany? Really?_

“Brittany?” Lexa asked.

“Y-yeah.”

“Brittany what?”

“Brittany…S-Spears?”

_Oh, for fuck’s sake, Clarke._

Lexa narrowed her eyes.

“Her name is Clarke Griffin.” Lincoln who had unnoticeably disappeared and returned, was standing with a tablet in his hand.

“I cross checked with her DNA on the car. It’s Clarke Griffin, 22 year old, artist, owns a gallery and lives with two roommates on the west side, commoner.” He swiped through the information.

Clarke looked away.

Lexa smirked.

“Oh, nice to meet you Clarke Griffin.” No one seemed to notice how Gus’s ears stood up at the very firdt mention by Lincoln.

“Now do you mind telling me what the hell you were doing in that building?” Lexa crossed her arms again.

There was no way a bunch of criminals were gonna get this out of Clarke, or so she thought.

“Come on, blondie, we haven’t got all night.” Anya raced forward and pressed the gun right between her eyes, anger bubbling for anyone who would even think of harming Lexa.

But before Lexa could jump to stop her (she didn’t know why she wanted to stop her.) Gus had already taken initiative.

“Stop!” he exclaimed, looking at Clarke.

“Wha—“ Anya was cut off as Gus pulled her gently away and stepped in front of Clarke.

Clarke, clearly overshadowed and frankly, a little scared of the huge figure before her eyes, froze.

“You’re Clarke _Griffin?”_ Clarke could only nod.

“As in, Jake Griffin’s daughter?” Clarke’s eyes went wide at that.

“How the hell do you know my father? Who are you?” Clarke started walking back slowly, befuddled as to how this strange man knew her and Jake.

“How didn’t I notice before? You look just like him, you’ve, uh, got his eyes.” He tried to laugh away the tears clearly forming in his eyes.

Indra seeming to be the only person who understood, standing with a smile on her face, not an expression that came very often.

The rest three were only dumbstruck.

Clarke felt water prickling at her eyes.

“Who are you?” She asked again.

Gus sniffed and replied.

“I’m Augustus Hill and your father…he…he was…” he turned to Indra, who smiled to encourage him, and turned back.

“He was…a very dear friend and my partner.” Gus looked away.

“What?” Clarke’s hands fell to her sides and she winced, at the sudden remembrance of the grazed wound.

Gus was quick to notice.

“Tomorrow maybe. For now, Lincoln, patch her up, her arm’s bleeding if she loses too much blood she could pass out.” Gus ordered the tan man who seemed to respond with a nod.

“What makes you think I’ll be here till tomorrow?” Clarke flinched away from Lincoln.

“Because you have nowhere else to go. Mount Weather probably already has your identity, and there are bound to be surveillance around your apartment and your mother is miles away. Don’t worry, your friends and family won’t be harmed, they wouldn’t risk that attention.” Gus turned around to go to his office.

“And who’s ‘they’?” Clarke questioned.

Gus smiled at the similarities between her and Jake and just left with a quite, “Tomorrow.”

Indra seemed to follow after.

Lincoln on the other hand, was busy trying to get Clarke to medical aid.

“N-No, let…go of me.” Clarke, suddenly feeling the dizziness Gus predicted, was trying her level best to stay awake.

Unfortunately, lack of blood overtook her desire to fight, and she fell to the floor.

Well, almost.

If it wasn’t for Lexa she sure would’ve.

Clarke fell to her side falling effectively in Lexa’s arms, who held her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

“I got her. You guys take care of her stuff and take us back home.” Lexa said while picking Clarke up bridal style and turning to go to one of the many empty rooms.

“I got you.” Lexa whispered, as Clarke finally passed out completely.

What a strange night it had turned into.

Guess that’s what you get for being an idiot.

Guess that’s what you get.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

_“Clarke!” Jake said as he impatiently tapped his foot and looked at his watch._

_“Alright! Alright! I’m coming!” Clarke said as she ran out of the door with a toast in her mouth and bag barely worn._

_Jake raised a brow and crossed his arms._

_“Whaf” Clarke said with a toast in her mouth. “I have to attend Sinclair’s chemistry today cut me some slack.” She said as she took a bite of her toast._

_Jake chuckled._

_“Fine, but we’ve gotta hurry we’re about half-past-you’re-screwed late.”_

_Clarke let her head fall back._

_“Oh and” Jake turned to Clarke and as she did the same.”No telling your mother, she will **kill** me.” Jake stressed._

_“Amen to that.” Clarke said as she pulled her seatbelt._

_“You ready to face a day of despair and frustration?” Jake said as he started the engine._

_“You mean Monday?”_

_“Precisely.”_

_“No…not even a single bit.”_

_“Me either, kiddo. Me either.”_

Clarke gasped awake.

Breathing heavily and slowly letting herself calm down.

It always feels so real. Like she right there. Like it’s right then and everything is okay.

But then she wakes up, wakes up to this horrible reality.

This cruel truth that Jake is gone and she’s all alone.

Clarke rubbed her eyes and now started to remember.

“Shit.” She frantically looked around for her stuff.

Nothing, she wasn’t even wearing her own clothes, this wasn’t her room, her bed.

The birds outside caught her eye, she wasn’t even on the spaceship (she refused to accept that thing for anything else) anymore.

Where the hell was she?

She got up to find a new pair of cozy shoes at the bottom. She walked out of her room to find that her place of rest was part of one…giant…castle.

At least that’s what it seemed like to Clarke.

She walked around empty hallways in her oversize grey sweatshirt and black pajamas.

This place was huge.

It had antiques of sorts decorated everywhere, the stairs seemed to be those in ballrooms.

The walls were decorated with pictures of people, _happy_ people that she couldn’t recognize from the distance.

There were couches spread out in what she assumed to be the living room, far left to which was the kitchen and far right was the gate, which was large enough to be assumed as the entrance.

_Grrrr._

At the mention of the kitchen Clarke realized she hadn’t eaten in a long while.

Turning towards the kitchen she felt a something bump into her and then hold her as tight as one could imagine.

“Oof! What the……Aden?” Clarke asked as she hugged him back.

“Clarke! What are you doing here…in my sister’s clothes?” He pulled back a little to look at her.

“Your sister?” Clarke raised a brow.

“That would be me.” Both the blondes turned their heads to near the staircase where Lexa was leaning against the railing.

“Aden _what_ are you doing?” She crossed her arms.

“Remember the woman that saved me? From John? Well, meet Clarke. Though I’m not so sure what she’s doing here, not that I mind, but how’d you end up in the guest room?” Aden pulled back.

“Well.” Clarke scratched her head.

“We were at the Mo—“

“She is one of uncle Gus’s friends, well, the daughter of one. She’ll be staying with us for a while, Aden.” Lexa cut her off immediately.

Clarke raised a brow but quickly took the hint.

“Yeah…” she turned to Aden. “Guess it’s a small world, huh?” she smiled at him who smiled back at her.

“Zoran is going to freak!” he hugged her tightly again and then ran upstairs to where Clarke assumed his room was.

She was simply busy smiling at him.

Lexa on the other hand, was a little taken aback, by how open her usually introverted and shy brother was being.

“Lexa Woods.” Lexa said as she approached.

“Huh?”

“My name, thought you’d wanna know who saved your life last night.” She smirked.

“Saved _my_ life?” Clarke scoffed. “Because you were so going to escape on your non-existent bike were you?”

Lexa growled. “That bike was taken into Polis before I reached, if only you had waited for a little while longer, they would’ve come and we wouldn’t have had to risk our lives with your driving skills!”

“If we _had_ waited a little while longer, we would be _dead_. And excuse you, my driving skills are what saved us, unlike you who was too busy rolling her eyes!”

“I—“ Enter Lincoln who, despite being able to lift a car, always preferred the peace path, and jumped between the two.

“Alright, alright, let’s just take a deep breath okay?” Lincoln tried to keep the two girls from killing each other.

“Oh come on I was finally having some fun.” All heads turned to Anya who was sliding down the railing.

“Anya a little help here?” Lincoln said as he struggled to keep the two growling girls away from each other.

“Oh no way, this is fantastic.” Anya laughed.

“Maybe not act with your everyday idiocy in front of our guest all of you?” Gus appeared along with Niylah, Nyko and Indra.

“Clarke, a very Good morning to you.” Gus nodded as Clarke removed Lincoln’s hands, still glaring at Lexa while the green eyed girl did the same.

“Oh..kay, then. Your room has been set up, I don’t know if you had time to see it but new clothes an furniture and any other necessities you might have, have been placed.” Gus joined his hands.

“Thankyou.” Clarke turned to him. “But I won’t be staying here long.”

“And where else do you plan to go?” Gus had a stoic expression on.

“Home.”

“Despite them looking for you there? Despite it being unsafe?”

“And why exactly should I trust you, strange person I met on a spaceship?” Clarke crossed her arms and Gus smiled softly at the same sense of humor he used to tolerate from Jake.

“Because.” His smile suddenly turned into a frown. “I believe you were at Mount Weather because you have questions.”

Clarke furrowed her brows.

“Questions that I have the answers to, to a certain extent of course.”

Clarke stood straight while everyone else watched the exchange with a confused look.

“And how do I know I can believe you?”

Gus smirked.

“Jake Griffin. Case #319. Hit and run. Or at least that’s what they called it. Body badly injured. No evidence of culprit or footage of the incident. Case ruled as unsolved. Case…closed.”

“H-How do you know all of this?” Clarke started walking towards Gus, hesitating to even speak, but somehow putting all her faith in him.

“Like I said Jake Griffin was a dear friend.”

Clarke felt tears prickling at her eyes, after years and years of looking for something, or someone, to just help her out, give her direction.

Something to help her find out what had happened.

And now she had.

“Tell me.” She mumbled out. Gus felt his heart sting.

This girl, her entire life had lived in the shadow, away from the truth, away from reality.

Always manipulated, always lied to. Gus’s soul ached to think about how she was just like his once brother like friend, his once family like partner, his team, and how she was just as curious for the truth.

She deserved to know now, Gus knew she did, and so,

“Come, we have much to discuss, little Griffin.”

This was going to be tough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Toby the devil cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke finally finds out the truth and falls into a deep pit of harsh realities, but Lexa is there to catch her. However, they could not be more done with each other.

_“Here’s to the demise of one of the biggest Azgeda warehouses.” Jake said as he raised a glass._

_“And, and,” Alex halted, “here’s to the look on Titus’ face tomorrow.” He raised his glass and all three giggled._

_“Here’s to us.” Gus said with a sense of satisfaction in his tone._

_The three family like team members smiled at each other before gulping down their vodka shot._

_It was about their 3 rd glass each, it was a celebration, they deserved it._

_After months and months of tracking down Azgeda’s members, linking them to Mount Weather and then taking down their biggest storage warehouse?_

_If anything they deserved a few drinks._

_After the bottle had finished and neither was still under the influence (thank you training) they decided to relish in their memories instead._

_“Hahaha, and do you remember when Jake shot at a scarecrow during a mission because it spooked him out?” Alex clutched at his stomach and rolled around on the couch laughing._

_“And then we had to rush the entire thing because the enemy defense was busy laughing and we got our window because of it?” Gus reminded, while still almost in tears._

_Jake_ _pouted and fell back in his seat._

_“Well, I never said I was the fighter, the only reason I was in the field is because you couldn’t have diffused the bomb even if your life depended on it…which it did!” Jake scoffed._

_“Ahh come on, we’re just kidding Jakey!” At Gus’s comfort Jake let a little smile slip through._

_“Besides, you are good in the field now, I saw little Clarke practice on the punching bag while you collected your things from the garage, she’s gotten good, she may even beat you.” Alex joked, but Jake could only feel a sense of pride course through him._

_“Too bad she’s only gonna know you as my office friends.” Jake put his arm around Alex._

_“Well, that’s not entirely untrue.” Gus pointed out._

_All three fell into a comfortable silence for a little while until Alex and Jake started getting texts from home, making Gus wonder what it would be like to get calls of his own._

_Caught daydreaming by his two friends, it was probably the first time any of them had witnessed a man as big as Gus blush._

_“Dreaming about Indra are we?” Alex smirked at Gus and then at Jake, who mirrored his actions._

_“Huh, what?” Gus shook his head a little, red creeping upto his neck._

_“Oh, come on big guy! This is the first time in years that I’ve seen you blush, or probably ever.” Jake exclaimed._

_“I do not possess feelings for Indra.” He tried his best to hide it, he really did._

_“Alright, alright don’t get all serious on me now.” Jake punched his arm_

_“Unless Indra is into the kind of serious, buff, st—“ Before Alex could finished planning his own funeral, Gus tackled him onto the couch, while Jake simply laughed at his idiotic friends._

_After it all had calmed down and the three were just laughing their adrenaline away, Jake pointed out._

_“Ahh, time to head home don’t you think, lads?”_

_And with that all three made their way into the basement laughing, looking for their cars, cracking jokes and leaning on each other to even stand straight…_

_When suddenly the lights went out._

_Pitch black._

_Jake_ _’s instinct causing him to speed dial Kane before his phone fell somewhere in the dark and he was suddenly being beaten, on the ground._

_Alex was not fortunate enough to take precaution, being the first one to be attacked, or maybe things would be a lot different._

_“Alex!” Gus groaned out. But he could only hear muffled noises.”Jake!” Muffled screams._

_He felt himself being dragged away and now a cloth in his mouth caused him to be unable to speak._

_He felt kicks and punches by multiple people at a time, and then he felt he was injected with something, paralyzing him, unmoving._

_It all felt like a nightmare._

_It **was** all a nightmare._

Clarke listened with attentive ears; a tear now flowing down her cheek, Gus looked away.

It was painful for him to remember, even more so to explain.

What was worse, was seeing Clarke, breaking apart. Seeing the pain in her eyes. Seeing her living through it, almost like Gus had. The girl was internally drowning in her own sorrow.

“I had become unconscious.” Gus said and Clarke looked up from trying to control her tears. “I woke up in the facility medical room next, to find out what had happened. Alex he…” Lexa, having heard this story before, looked away.

“…He, um…” Gus tried to compose himself.

“He was beaten half to death, he was on the bed next to me, still sleeping. Kane heard the whole thing go down and was there in a matter of seconds to protect you and your mother but Alex he…I got to know before he did.” Gus dipped his head.

“Know what?” Clarke sniffed, trying to wipe her now freely flowing tears.

Gus and Lexa looked at each other, with sympathy; both knew what they had gone through. Gus turned his attention back to Clarke.

“Becca, his wife, had been killed and your father, our brother…he…”

“What?”

“…he was killed, beaten until he couldn’t breathe anymore, and then at all. They crashed his car and staged it to be a hit and run.”

Time seemed to stop for Clarke.

Clarke looked the ground, trying to comprehend what she had just heard, all this time, she was right.

She was right about whatever she had believed all along, but,

“Why was there no evidence?” Clarke said without lifting her eyes from the ground. “No proof, no clue. Anything. How did they make his body look li—“

“They didn’t.” Gus answered before she could finish. She looked up at him. “They didn’t have to. Friends in places. They ruled it as a hit and run and the body was buried before examined.” He sighed.

Clarke couldn’t take it, not anymore.

She slowly stood up and went back into the room she woke up in, and closed the door behind her.

Lexa felt her own memories coming back.

She remembered how she had broken down, how she had suffered with the knowledge of what had happened.

Everyone stood in silence before leaving to their own rooms or errands.

Until it was just Gus and Lexa.

They both stayed like that for a while, Lexa leaning against the wall and Gus bent over on the chair.

Quietly.

“I see so much of him in her.” Gus said as Lexa looked to him.  “It’s the same playfulness in her eyes, the same pain behind them, and the same stubbornness.”

Lexa remembered how she had reacted when she found out what happened, how alone she had felt, how broken.

She remembered how she had lost all sense of meaning, how she felt like no one was there for her, how nothing mattered anymore…until it was Anya who brought her back.

“She never knew.” Lexa’s train of thought was interrupted by Gus as he got up to leave.

“She never knew what he was a part of, she had no idea. She was just a girl who has been living in the dark for as long as she can remember.” He sighed and walked away.

Lexa couldn’t help but think…and think more.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Okay.” Lexa huffed out in front of Clarke’s door. “Let’s do this.” She knocked twice on the door, having second thoughts by the first one.

_What am I doing?_

_Why the hell am I here?_

The girl could not fathom as to what drew her towards the brown door to the blonde but she felt like she had to. Every nerve in her body guiding her towards Clarke.

Her brain could not understand as to why, it felt like her body and mind were two different things altogether.

She didn’t understand why but she knew she had to talk to Clarke, she had been where she was once before after all, was it the resemblance?

Her thoughts were halted by the lack of reply.

“Clarke?” She called out before gathering all her guts and opening the door.

Her heart broke at the sight.

Clarke was sitting on the floor, underneath the window in the room. Her hair was a little messy and her head was dipped and covered with her hands and knees.

She was sitting in a curled up position and looked…broken, defeated, tired.

She was visibly shivering from the cold wooden floor, and probably from the things she had just found out.

Lexa could only imagine how lost Clarke would be feeling right now. How shattered her beliefs must be.

Being lied to for this long, being wrong for this long, how could anyone be strong enough to take this.

Lexa silently went and sat down next to Clarke they both remained in silence for the most part.

Clarke lifted her head and sat back, leaning against the wall.

Never lifting her eyes off of the ground.

“It gets better.” Lexa said without her gaze leaving the wall in front of them. “It gets worse first, you cry, all the time. You keep blaming yourself, keep thinking if you could’ve done something, anything at all to change it, but you couldn’t have. You can’t. It’s gonna hurt like hell, for a long time, and at times it’ll feel like you can’t take it anymore. Like you’re numb.”

Clarke closed her eyes.

“But then it gets better, one day, you just wake up, and don’t feel so numb anymore, so broken anymore. One day, it just…gets better.” Lexa turned her head to Clarke.

Clarke slowly opened her eyes, not completely, staring ahead at nothing at all.

“And what if it doesn’t’?” She asked with the little energy she had left in her.  


Lexa looked back at the wall.

“What if it does?” She said as she looked forward.

The words registered with Clarke deeper than she had anticipated, though it hurt like hell, it felt like all she had ever thought was a lie, she felt betrayed, she felt let down, she felt alone. But though it was little, Lexa’s words lit a spark in her, a sense of hope, a little light in this shitstorm. Her heart felt lighter, she wasn’t sinking deeper and deeper anymore, she was simply afloat. Lexa’s words keeping her above the water.

Keeping her anchored.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

After a couple of minutes of silence Clarke fell asleep with her head resting on her knees.

Lexa noticed it after the adorable little snores Clarke started letting out.

_They aren’t adorable snores. What? No. I mean there are snores but not adorable, not that they are annoying no, but, like, they’re snores, regular snores, snores with no adjectives. Like n—OH MY GOD, Lexa, shut up._

She cursed as she picked Clarke up and tucked her in bed, smiling softly when she saw Clarke nuzzle into her pillow, not that it was cute or anything. No not at all.

She quietly walked out of her room, closing the door without making any noise.

“Hey, commander.”

Lexa practically jumped at the voice.

She turned around find Anya with a cocked brow, with a phone in her hand.

Lexa let out a breath of relief at her sight.

“You okay?” Anya crossed her arms.

“Y-Yeah.” Lexa stood up straight.

“What is it, Anya?” Lexa said as she made her way to the kitchen.

Anya following after, brow still in palce.

She jumped on the counter while Lexa poured herself juice.

“So news is, that your little stunt yesterday caught the Queens’ eyes.” Lexa looked up at Anya nervously.

“They’ve sent a representative from the biggest Mount Weather establishment in…” She looked at the phone.

“Paris.”

“ _Paris_ _?”_

“Oh yeah.”

“Isn’t that like, a huge risk? Considering how far the distance is?”

“Not for someone with a private jet.”

“Touché.”

Anya smiled.

“Anyway, the representative coming is Dax Larkin.” Anya threw the phone to Lexa who caught it swiftly, looking at the picture of the man who was to come.

He was tall, with a sharp jaw and looked about ready to kill someone in all of his pictures.

“He looks like a big deal.”

“He also looks like someone ruined his joke…all the time.”

Lexa chuckled.

“But yeah he’s apparently second in command to Emerson. “

“That is important.”

“Yeah, for the first time your suicidal recklessness has yielded a good result.”

“Good?”

“He may be important, but not enough for them to send security that we can’t handle.”

“Are you suggesting we kill him?”

“No.” Anya got off the counter. “I’m suggesting that Gus now seems to like going on missions unauthorized by Titus, so we’re gonna be bringing home a Mount Weather guest today.”

Lexa smirked.

Now _this_ was gonna be fun.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

No one expected Clarke to be out of bed before a week. They knew she needed time, to heal, to fix her wounds.

She needed time to accept the reality.

No one expected Clarke to be up and about right now.

Certainly not standing in front of them the very same evening, all geared up and ready to go as they were.

But what surprised them the most was,

“I’m coming with you.” She crossed her arms and held her head up high, she needed to appear strong to influence.

“Coming…where?” Anya said as she finished tying her shoelaces.

“To wherever you’re going. I know it’s related to Mount Weather and I want in.” She shifted her weight to the other leg.

Lexa and Anya exchanged confused glances before looking at Clarke.

“You two aren’t as quite as you think.” She clarified.

Lexa looked positively pissed off, every word coming out of this girl’s mouth seemed to flip a switch in her.

“Well, you aren’t as smart as you think, princess.”

_Oooooooo._

 Lexa walked up to Clarke who was narrowing her eyes.

“There is no way you’re coming with us.” Lexa got closer and closer to Clarke, now standing about 2 feet apart.

“And who exactly are you to decide that?” Clarke was now walking towards her too;

“I’m the commander of this team so you better lis----.” Lexa smirked, getting closer.

And then for a fraction of a second, for just a glance, Lexa’s drifted down to Clarke’s lips.

Those kissable, perfect, pi--

“You’re the commander?” She scoffed as she stepped forward. Both of their faces now mere inches apart. “They really do give these jobs to anyone these days.” She smirked.

Lexa was _boiling._

Who in the world did this girl think she was?

Sure, she was pretty, and hot, and had eyes that were bluer than the ocean, and hair that just w---

_What?_

_No, Lexa, shut up!_

“Listen up, y---“ Lexa got interrupted.

“What’s going on here?” Gus said as he entered the vicinity wearing his gear vest.

Lexa turned towards Gus, moving away from Clarke’s face.

Feeling somewhat…reluctant…to tear away.

“Clarke here thinks she will be coming with us tonight.” Lexa crossed her arms.

Gus raised a brow, looking like a total soldier with his uniform on him.

He looked at Clarke and then at Lexa.

“Well does she have an idea of where we’re going?” He bent down to pick up his gun.

“No.” “Yes.”

They both spoke up at the same time, and then narrowed their eyes at each other.

“O..kay” Gus picked up his clip.

“Does she even have any gear to go?” Gus clicked the clip into his pistol.

“None.” Lexa pointed out, trying her best to wear Clarke down.

Gus looked at Lexa and then at Clarke, who looked away, in her clothes from the night before, now washed and clean.

“Well then,” Gus tucked his gun into one of his holders on his vest. “we better get her one don’t we?”

Both Clarke and Lexa looked shocked.

“Considering how she’ll need them on our mission tonight.” Gus smiled at Clarke.

“But Gustus, I—“ Lexa tried to counter.

“I am your supervisor and I have decided that Clarke should come with us.”He turned around and started walking away before shouting, “Anya get her the gear and her gun, I believe she already has one.” To which Anya simply nodded and left.

Lexa jogged up to Gus.

“Gustus, she doesn’t e—“

“Remember when you found out about Alex?” Gus halted and turned to Lexa who looked away. “You got your chance…don’t you think she deserves one too?” He looked at her with the eyes of a father explaining something to his daughter.

Lexa knew he was right.

It sucked to know he was right.

“Fine.” She pouted like a little child. “But don’t expect me to be happy about it.”

Gus smiled at Lexa’s child like arguing.

“Go get your gun, we have an empire to destroy.” Gus smirked as he made his way to the stairs, to get to the roof where their ride awaited them.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

 

“Holy shit…” Clarke stood wide eyed, staring at the giant black jet on the roof that read “POLIS”.

Lincoln chuckled at her reaction. “You never saw it properly the last time, you were asleep when we came back.” He pointed out.

“I know but this is...” She turned to him. “So which one of you is batman?” She walked by his side.

Lincoln laughed out.

He could feel himself warming up to the girl.

They walked into Polis and Clarke sat on one of the seats while Lincoln went into the cockpit.

Little did she know, which seat she had picked.

“That’s my seat.” Lexa crossed her arms in front of Clarke, distracting her from the view of the sunset outside.

“I’m sorry…what?” Clarke heard her just fine, she just wanted make sure it was exactly what she thought it was.

“You’re sitting on my seat.”

_Yep, it totally was._

Lexa wouldn’t have cared if it didn’t have a little history behind it. She really wouldn’t have.

“Well, I guess you’re just gonna have to sit on another seat. Like any regular person would. How unfortunate.” She said sympathetically…well not so much.

“I don’t know who you think you are? Bu—“

“Stop acting like a child and take another seat, Lexa.” Indra commanded as she stepped onto the jet and headed straight into the cockpit with Lincoln.

Lexa glared at Clarke who just smirked.

“Yes, Indra.” She accepted her defeated from the order from her supervisor in charge and sat on the seat next to Clarke.

At this point Anya and Gus walked in, Anya sitting on the window on the other side and Gus sitting at the back.

The seat besides Anya was…demolished…was probably the right word. It had scratches and cuts, and there was cotton coming out of everywhere. It looked positively destroyed, as if someone had unleashed all of god’s wrath on it. It had been murdered…talking in the seat sense of course…leaving no other place left for Lexa.

Clarke gave Anya a confused look after examining the crime scene very carefully.  


“Oh that, yeah, long story short Lincoln once brought a cat on the way back from a mission that turned out to be not so friendly.” Anya clarified.  


“But it was so _cute_!” Lincoln shouted from the cockpit.

“It was _Satan_.” Anya corrected.

Lincoln’s head popped out from the cockpit door.

“Toby was an adorable, little ray of sunshine.” And he disappeared again.

“Yeah, more like the devil himself.” Anya mumbled.

“I heard that!” You could hear Lincoln shouting from the distance.

Clarke smiled at how even highly trained agents could act like her 20-something-with-no-idea-about-how-to-deal-with-life friends.

She could hear Indra sighing from the cockpit and Gus sat pinching the bridge of his nose.

And then she turned to Lexa, who was smiling at Anya’s annoyed expression.

_And oh that smile._

She had the most beautiful smile, the kind that makes you stomach twist, your heart clench, your soul f—

_What the fuck?_

Clarke shook away her thoughts.

 What was happening to her?

“Buckle up!” She heard Indra snap her out of her thoughts.

At that she put her seat belt on feeling Polis lift off of the ground.

And then once it was above safe distance, it started moving forward.

She didn’t notice when they had gone steady and when everyone had taken off their seatbelts.

“You know you don’t have to always wear that right?” Lincoln offered his hand.

“Wha---?” Clarke was too engaged in the sun setting outside, now only the top visible over the horizon.

She noticed everyone slowly wandering into the large double doors in the back.

Lincoln let out a breathy laugh.

“The seatbelt.” He gestured. “You can take it off now.” He grinned.  


“What? Oh yeah.” She clicked it open and stood up to get a better view of the doors.

“Welcome to Polis.” Lincoln said as he walked towards them.

He slowly opened the door.

Clarke only gaped.

It opened to a large lounge like area with couches and a dining room and a kitchen and a ramp and doors and doors and doors and a large wi----

Then she saw her, leaning against the window, much similar to the one Clarke had back home.

Her brown hair was braided in the back and she had a cup of coffee in her hand. She was wearing all black and was looking out on to the city lights.

Clarke swore it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Uh, speaking as an _artist_ of course.

_Of course._

“What do you think?” Lincoln in her ear.  


“Oh no I was just, I wasn’t starting. It’s just, the windo—“

She was cut off by Lincoln’s laughter.

“I meant Polis.”

Clarke had never blushed harder.

“This? It’s probably bigger than my apartment, my apartment that I still have to share with two other people.” She said as they walked towards the couches.

Lincoln laughed as he plopped down on one of the couches in front of the TV on the wall.

“You know you can’t go back right?” He pointed out, shyly so.

“What?” Clarke sat down next to him.

“I-I mean it’s not safe anymore. By now Azgeda has recognized you. Your life is at stake.” Lincoln hesitated.

“She can’t stay here either.” Anya said as she walked up to the two sitting on the sofa.

Lexa had noticed Clarke enter, her curious eyes and adorable face scanning the entire room, but on account of her image, pretended to be unaffected by it.

She could hear the conversation, she heard every word, a disgruntled face when she heard that Clarke would be sticking around.

But as soon as Anya’s words registered with her she couldn’t help but,

“Why?” She said from where she was standing before and walked up to everyone. A sudden rush of protectiveness came over her, not wanting to let her go just yet, or maybe she was just curious.

Yeah it probably was just it.

The reply came almost immediately after Anya had pointed it out, something that both Anya and Lincoln noticed as they smirked at each other and then at Lexa, making her blush.

“I..I meant…I didn’t k—“  


“Yeah we know what you meant.” Anya crossed her arms and fell back on the recliner.

Lincoln smiled as Clarke cocked a brow.

“But she can’t stay here.” Anya put her feet on the coffee table in the middle.

“And why is that?” Lincoln sat back.

“Well we can’t just pick a Clarke Griffin off of the world. People are gonna come looking for her. Friends, family, people that care about her.” Anya crossed her arms as Lexa came to sit down on the sofa across from Anya.

“She can’t go back though. She can’t protect herself from Mount Weather.” Lincoln said.

“Excuse me? I ca—“

“I would like you to consider how Mount Weather has thousands of people who would kill someone with a flick of their wrist before you suggest that you can defend yourself, blondie.” Anya said without opening her eyes.

Everyone fell into a silence, wondering.

“Time to go.” Indra said as she opened the doors for a split second before disappearing.

And before Clarke knew it, everyone around her was rushing and putting on gear. She was dumbfounded.

“Here.” Lincoln passed her the vest she had taken off. “Let’s see what you can do.”

She put on her backpack that she had decided to carry and followed everyone to the ramp that was now slowly opening.

“I’ll bring Polis around on your call. I will need a 7 minute advance cue.” Indra said through the ear piece that Lincoln gave her to wear along with a wrist piece that Gus was speaking into on his.

“You got it. Take us in, Indra.” Gus said as Clarke felt polis being lowered.

“Take a leap of faith with us, blondie?” Anya said as she tightened her vest.

“What?” Clarke looked at her confused.

Before she knew it Anya took a little run up and jumped off the ramp.

For a moment Clarke stood wide eyed.

She rushed forward to see what according to her, was a suicide attempt.

What she saw instead was, Anya was rolling on a roof that was maybe a few yards away.

As she saw Anya stand and brush off the dust, Lincoln and Gustus were already jumping off as if they had wings.

They too landed and rolled to steady the fall.

What were they? Ninjas?

Polis was still hovering over.

“We don’t have all night, Griffin.” Indra’s nudge could be heard clearly in the ear piece.

“Y-yeah on it.” Clarke talked into her wrist microphone, feeling like a proper agent from the movies.

She carefully observed and contemplated her chancing of dying or at least breaking every bone in her body.

“Don’t be afraid, Clarke.” She heard just a whisper before she felt a breeze go by her and within seconds Lexa was mid air.

For a moment Clarke’s heart stopped, not knowing whether the brunette would land or shatter, then again, this was Lexa, unlike Clarke, she had done this many a times before.

She landed with much grace. First, on her feet and then rolled before sitting on one knee, one hand on the ground to steady her.

Clarke let out a sigh of relief, a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. She didn’t really know why. It’s not like she cared what happened to Lexa. No. No, she just breathed out too fast that’s all.

“Okay, you can do this.” She said to herself comfortingly.

_What? No you can’t, that’s like 5 yards you’ll die with the first contact._

“1…” Clarke started backing up.

_Okay, Clarke think about this, they’re agents, they have done this before, you fall while standing sometimes._

“2…” she stood in a running stance.

_You tripped over nothing last week and strained your wrist, I think it’s safe to say this is a bad idea._

“3.” She boosted herself forward.

_You’re not gonna listen are you?_

“Crap crap crap crap crap crap.” She screamed as she flew, more like fell, down, to her death.

At least that’s what she thought. Right before she felt the pain of coming in contact with the ground travel through her starting from her legs.

She expected more, like, bones breaking, or demise, but instead she felt nothing but soft, strong arms supporting her.

She opened her eyes half expecting grim reaper to be holding her.

(okay maybe she was exaggerating but it’s not like she jumps off of a hover onto a roof with no experience everyday)

But instead she opened them to find bright emerald green eyes looking into her, arms surrounding Clarke as if afraid to let go. She met those eyes with her own sky blue gaze, now seeing clearly.

For the first time she could see her up close, the way her lips were a little parted, how she had a little scar on her upper lip, the way her eyebrows were furrowed in concern, the little yellow flecks in those eyes, and oh those eyes, Clarke could get lost in them.

It seemed as though Lexa wasn’t much further from this state either. It came as an instinct, a natural reflex to protect this girl. She saw it coming. Clarke had a short run up, wrong stance, bad movement and less acceleration. She knew Clarke was gonna fall, hard, and while others only widened their eyes Lexa without knowing was catching Clarke with open arms. Doing whatever she could to make sure no harm came to her. But why? Why did she even care? Wait, she didn’t care. No not at all. Not one bi---

 

All thoughts came to a halt as she felt herself going numb at the blue gaze boring into her. She was an inch or two away from Clarke’s face, away from the mark above her lip, away from eyes as blue as the sky on a clear day with the su---

“Ahem Ahem.” Anya decided it was time to snap the two girls back to reality. She cleared her throat and gave Lincoln an amusing look.

Clarke pulled apart instantly, causing Lexa to shake her head to gather her thoughts.

Clarke didn’t know for how long the two had been like that but it must’ve been long for Anya and Lincoln to be snickering and Gustus to be raising a brow.

Clarke was mentally cursing herself for being so…so….she didn’t even know what was going on really.

It was during this self analysis that she noticed in the distance. The Mount Weather building, about 20 blocks down but still clear in sight, had three rovers rolling up next to it, that’s all she could make out anyway.

“Gus, look.” Clarke grabbed his attention as she walked to the edge of the roof.

“Just in time.” Gustus allowed a smirk to embrace itself. “It’s time,” he nodded at Lincoln, signaling. “let’s go.”

“You read my mind.” Clarke was the first to go through the door, down to the back alley.

And everyone was now pacing to the door to make their way to Dax Larkin.

Anya and Lexa were the last to go through it.

“Hey there, Commander Heart eyes.” Anya elbowed Lexa.

“Oh shut up.” Lexa simply rolled her eyes, thinking better than to start this argument now, they had a much more important task at hand. They had an empire to destroy.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

They ran the distance, hiding in the shadows, hiding from the guards that were definitely gonna be spread out for miles in every direction. With quite but quick steps they reached the foot of the building next to Mount Weather.

 _Thud_.

As soon as the sound of the guard dropping unconscious was heard, the group gathered to discuss the plan.

Or Clarke presumed they did.

 _Wrongly_ presumed.

“Okay so what’s the plan?” Lincoln put his gun in his holster.

“What?” Clarke looked dumbfounded. “Wait, do we not have a plan?” she feared she already knew the answer to that.

“Uh, well, we did just decide we were gonna do this about 5 hours ago.” Anya tried to justify.

“But, still, do you even know how you’re gonna get in?” She hoped as secret agents with cool gadgets and flying jets they would know at least something of what to do.

As all four looked at their clueless faces, Clarke got her answer.

“…alright.” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

She took off her backpack and put it on the ground, pulling out the blueprints of Mount Weather, same ones she used to get in before.

“Okay so,” She spread it out on the ground with Gus’s help and knelt on the ground with the rest of them.

The four listened with attentive ears.

“Here’s how we do this.”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A swing with the back of a gun and few punches and all four guards at the back door were out cold.

Anya nodded to Gus and spoke into her wrist microphone.

“Night time for the guards, blondie.”

“Perfect.” She was standing on the roof of the building behind M.W. Headquarters. She turned around to face Lincoln on the roof next to her.

“Now, Li—“

“Consider it done.” Lincoln said as she aimed his sniper to the top of the Mount Weather building, where the guards were taking rounds.

_Whizz._

The first guard, near the edge, fell off straight on the ground.

The sound was loud enough to be heard everywhere, only noticed by the second guard though, who was seemingly now walking towards where his partner was supposed to be.

He came nearing to the edge, and looked down.

Nobody, empty alley.

 With a suspicious look on his face he began reaching for his radio when a cheerleading brunette caught his attention.

_“And that’s how we get in, it’ll be tri—“_

_“Wait everyone has jobs, what do I do?” Lexa crossed her arms, huddled up behind the dumpster near the building next to their target._

_“You can uh, watch.” Clarke turned her attention back to the blueprints._

_“I am the commander of this unit and if you think your newbie adrenaline can make me sit on the side you are dead wro—“_

_“Alright, alright, grumpy maybe there is one thing you can do.” Clarke smirked._

And that’s how Lexa ended up being the cheerleader keeping the roof shooter’s attention from Lincoln.

The smirk should’ve been the giveaway really.

“Huh?” was all his face said before Lincoln shot another dart right to his neck, and much like the idiot before him, fell unconscious, backwards on the roof.

 

“I hope you enjoyed yourself.” Lexa pouted. “Making the most trained asset in this group act as a distraction.” She gave way as Clarke walked up to waist height wall surrounding them.

“Oh I did.” Clarke aimed her father’s (toy) gun at a window on the building.

By this time Anya and Gus had made their way up and Lincoln had hopped over.

“What’s she doing?” Anya nudged at Lincoln who just shrugged.

“Putting Jake’s work into use.” Gus smiled.

A small machine hum was heard and like before a net popped out.

“1…2…3…” Clarke backed up.

And sizzled open a giant circle entry into the building.

Clarke cheered like a 5 year old.

“HA! Yes! Take _that_ Mount Weathe---“ She turned around to find the rest…maybe not as enthusiastic as her.

Clarke cleared her throat “Alright now…”

She picked up the crossbow lying next to her feet and fired at the top of the M.W building.

Once fired, she tugged at the rope that was tied to the arrow to see whether it was strong enough.

“Okay this should be good enough.” She turned to the rest. “Who’s going first?” She gestured.  


Looks were exchanged and a silent decision was made.

“Guess that’s me.” Lincoln took off the sniper rifle off of his back and took the rope in his hands.

“Now, remember, you will go straight into the…” Clarke turned to the blueprints, “…the storage…room…really how many storage rooms do they need?” She turned to Gustus, who shrugged at the time wasting question.

“Anyway, make sure you keep quite because we’ll be landing exactly on floor above the conference room where I’m guessing our Dax will be holding the meeting.” She clarified.

“You got it…though I have one question.” He said as he climbed the lifted wall.

“Hmm?”

“How do you know all this, I mean, where’d you get this information from? The blueprints that are somehow more specific than ours, how to get in, these devices?”

“Well…” Clarke backed up. “if I told you everything there won’t be much mystery to me would it?” She smirked.

Lincoln shook his head with a smile.

He pulled on the rope a little and then swung like the Spiderman he always wanted to be.

Clearly tumbling over on the other side he breathlessly spoke into his piece.

“Clarke, you, my friend, have made all my childhood wishes come true.”

“Didn’t quite take you for a Spiderman fan.” Clarke chuckled as she caught the rope he passed.

“I bet you didn’t take me for an anime fan either.”

“You’re an anime fan?” Clarke handed the rope to Anya who got up to take her swing.

“Nope.” Said Lincoln in her earpiece.

Clarke giggled as Anya swung with grace, like she had done this a billion times before (she probably had).

Soon came Gustus’s turn for whom everyone feared.

All eyes were fixated on the bulk agent when he noticed and rolled his eyes.

“Oh come on I’m not _that_ big.”

“You are literally pounds of muscles glued to bones as big as logs, I just hope the rope hangs, boss.” Anya spoke into her wrist.

Gus narrowed his eyes as he leaned back to get momentum and swung like a feather across to the building, barely fitting through the hole.

“Phew.” Anya added dramatically.

“You know your job is in my hands right?” Gus gave her a look.

“I mean, sir, phew sir, glad you made it, haha.”

Gus was rolling his eyes and Lincoln was trying his best to hide his laughter.

“All yours, commander.” Clarke gestured to the rope as Lexa breathed through her nose.

Anything this girl said seemed to infuriate Lexa. God, who the hell did she think she was?

Lexa was seconds away from swinging up to the not-so-hidden giant hole when hell came crashing through the front door.

Lexa felt herself being pulled backwards and then a hand on her mouth.

She heard the sounds of people hitting the floor.

Anya groaning.

Punches.

Hits.

And then silence.

A few seconds later they heard the sound of the door being closed.

All the while she was being held down and kept quite.

Lexa knew if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have hesitated to run in the line of fire.

Nevertheless,

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lexa hissed, breaking free of Clarke’s hold to observe what had happened.

“Oh come on Lexa. We both know if you could’ve you would’ve jumped to save them without second thought and then you too would’ve been dragged away. Who would’ve saved them then? Huh?” Clarke stood up, face to face with the fuming brunette, regretting saying anything almost immediately.

Now was not the time to lecture or explain, Lexa’s family was in there with one of the most dangerous criminal organizations and there was no telling what was gonna happen to them.

Lexa had to be scared, even if she didn’t want to show it, somehow Clarke could read it in her eyes. Somehow she could feel it herself.

Lexa’s angered face would’ve scared anyone off, but she was seconds away from losing herself to her frustration, fear, and furiousness, but Clarke didn’t flinch. She stood there, face to face, not moving an inch.

Then Lexa broke.

“They’re gone…Dax knew…”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

The traumatized, quite Lexa didn’t last for long.

Clarke pinched the bridge of her nose but Lexa pacing around on the roof didn’t make things any easier.

“Lexa,” Clarke held her head in her hand, “if you pace around any faster your clothes are going to catch on fire.”

Words didn’t seem to break through to her, considering how she continued to walk around the roof.

Clarke sighed and got up.

She held Lexa by the shoulders and shook her a little.

“Lexa! I—“ She hadn’t noticed how close they were up until now, how Lexa’s face was filled with worry and sadness.

“They’re all I have.” Lexa’s shoulders slumped.

Clarke looked away for a second and then back into glassy green eyes.

“I know…” she comforted, “…we’ll bring them back I promise.”

“How?” Lexa removed Clarke’s hands and now her frustration was really starting to show.

“I…” Lost for words, maybe not the best thing to say to someone in a state as Lexa’s.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Lexa turned around and began pacing again, this time, with bonus rambling.

“I mean what were we thinking, this is probably your first time in the field. Hell, it’s probably your first time three blocks away from home. It was so stupid, god, we couldn’t come up with anything better than listening to a rookie? What was our genius plan walk in like we belong and Azgeda would welcome us with open arms through the front gate? I mean we might as well throw eggs on their wall at least we would’ve done some property damage instead of sitt----“

Clarke’s eyes widened to the size of the moon.

“I got it. We can use that plan.” She said with one sided enthusiasm while Lexa stood dumbfounded.

“Your plan is to throw eggs at their window?” she crossed her arms, partly believing that Clarke could very well have thought of that.

“No.” she grinned. “It’s much worse.”

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“You’re right. It is worse.” The brunette whispered as they ducked behind the dumpster.

“Oh like you have a better plan.” She hissed at Lexa who was now making an infuriated face.

“Besides.” Clarke observed the alley for any sign of enemies. “You were right.” (it genuinely felt weird to call Lexa right.) “All this time we’ve been trying to get in through the backdoor. Of course they’re gonna stop intruders entering from restricted entries. Why would anyone stop someone who comes in through the front door like they’re supposed to be welcomed?”

Lexa let out a sigh of defeat. “This might just be stupid enough to work.”

Clarke puffed out her chest with a grin, feeling of pride running through her adrenaline high body.

She felt confidence surface within her at Lexa’s not-compliment.

Not that she cared what the brunette thought no.

“Okay. It’s clear let’s go.” Clarke said dusting off her jacket as she stood up.

Lexa did the same. Reluctantly. But still did.

Both the girls, one thoroughly convinced that this was genius and the other fully expecting death itself waiting for them as soon as they entered those doors.

They walked a few blocks away and stopped the first fancy looking car they could find. Lexa showed her badge and before Clarke knew it they were driving back.

If only life was this easy for the blonde. But being a self dependant artist was never easy.

She was brought out of her thoughts as the car rolled up next to the dreaded building with two buff guys standing at the gate.

“Act like you belong.” Was all Lexa said as she got out of the car and tucked her gun in the waist band of her jeans in the back, Clarke followed suit, coming to stand next the brunette.

She had her held high, unlike Clarke, and despite being completely out of control, faced the guards head on without even a tinge of fear showing in her condescending demeanor.

She stared at both the guards, as they mirrored her actions, before quirking a brow.

“Well, is it common for people to wait two days before you open the doors?” She said in the most demeaning voice she could gather up the guts to.

“Who would you be?” one of the very tough looking men with braids in his long hair spit out.

His voice as low as Clarke’s confidence.

“Ms. Queen sent us. We’re to see that Larkin knows what he’s doing. He is a newbie at this after all.” She scoffed, as if she had known this Dax inside out.  


He didn’t look experienced. Must’ve looked about 20 in the picture Anya showed Lexa, he couldn’t have possibly been around for longer than a year.

The guard turned to his companion and back to Lexa’s comparatively much smaller figured.

He gave her the most threatening look, but she refused to flinch, standing her ground.

Clarke swears there was a moment when he tried to murder Lexa with his gaze alone, watching how she fought back. When she kept her head held high he turned to the blonde.

It’s safe to say it didn’t go as the best scenario would’ve wanted.

She looked anywhere but his eyes.

Narrowed, life threatening, scary as fuck eyes.

Catching onto the sinking ship Lexa jumped in to save Clarke.

“I would leave my assistant out of this if I were you. She’s here to handle the paperwork, she won’t be sticking around if you keep looking at her like she’s dinner.” She said stoically, hard cold expression.

The man with the intricate braids, Clarke noticed, turned to his companion who nodded very slightly, would be invisible to any other person.

“Well? Open the doors. I don’t like to be late for meetings and unless you are very fond of desk duty I would make sure I reach Dax in time.” No emotions on display.

Without another word, the man, after seconds of obvious considering, opened the door letting both the girls in and closing it behind them.

“Next time, princess, try to not look like a deer caught in the headlights.” Lexa whispered as she walked with her back straight and Clarke merely rolled her eyes at the snarky remarks.

God, Lexa was so frustrating.

The halls were bustling with men in suits walking here and there. Guns and knives very casually in their hands, like it was so normal to have such weapons round like a spatula or a phone.

As they walked through the hall to the elevator, slowly all eyes turned to them.

Clarke, very clearly noticing but Lexa, acting oblivious to all the stares.

Looking around clearly nervous Clarke finally choked out, “Uh, Lexa?”

“Yes, Clarke?” Lexa was very well aware of her surroundings.

“I have a feeling this is about to go south.” Clarke walked closer to Lexa now, suddenly feeling surrounded.  She visibly gulped.

Lexa finally took a look from the corner of her eye. Strong, huge, men, with threatening builds and grip tightening on their respective weapons, staring at the two comparatively tiny figures walking through the crowd of possible murderers.

No.

No, definite murderers.

“You’re not the only one.” She looked around a little now.

As the elevator dinged she sighed with relief though as she took a step to enter one of the guards from the main doors burst in.  


“Get them! They’re grounders!” he pointed unabashedly.

“We’re what?” Clarke pushed her brows together.

“Oh boy.” While Lexa took out her gun.

She suddenly felt hands on her shoulders and without a second to waste knocked out the Azgeda agent in one swift punch.

Clarke stood agape, at least until she felt a hand on her mouth and one on her waist and then suddenly her feet were off the ground and she was being taken away.

“No!” She heard Lexa scream.

Panic coursed through her, as it would through anyone who hadn’t ever been in the midst of gangsters who hated them, previously.

She kicked back, hitting the guy in the nuts causing him to drop her and then punched him right in the nose.

There were men charging at her from every direction and danger in every corner but for some reason, for some unknown, mystery, irrational reason, she turned to look for green eyes and brown hair.

She looked around the room, finally finding her not far from her, fighting any agent pouncing her way.

Letting the man fall to the ground Lexa too turned frantically looking for a certain blonde, relief in her eyes visible as she noticed that Clarke was still here and not dead or worse.

But of course, it didn’t last for long.

Lexa’s eyes widened at something behind the blue eyed girl.

“Clarke!” She heard Lexa scream before she felt a sharp, agonizing sting in the back of her head and she felt her body hitting the ground, unable to do anything about it. Her vision went blur and she could hear a sharp, high pitched white noise in her ears, still faint.

But before blackness overtook her, she heard Lexa scream her name, oh how sweetly she would say ‘Clarke’ with the extra effort on the click.

She saw a blurred figure advancing towards her. All perfect edges, flow like hair, and enchanting eyes.

Clarke witnessed, in her part conscious state, Lexa being kicked in the stomach and then bombarded with men in black suits overtaking the blonde’s view.

“Lexa…” was all she could whisper before oblivion took her into its welcoming arms.

And the white noise stopped, her vision was just pitch black and it was just…empty.

 

**_Tap, tap, tap._ **

_Jake let go of the boy in his grip as he fell on the mat, gasping for air._

_“And that, Clarke, is how you hold someone in a neck lock.” Jake huffed waving Clarke over._

_“Uncle Jake?” Wells, now on his back, still heaving, gathered the courage to ask._

_“Yes, Jaha Jr.?” He crossed his arms with a small telltale smile._

_“Why do you have to practice your death moves on me?” He rubbed his neck._

_Jake_ _and Clarke chuckled._

_“It’s not a death move, it’s self defense.” He clarified. “My death moves would be much worse, Wells.” He grunted as he flexed his biceps hysterically._

_“Whatever it is, it’s going to be the death of me.” He let his head fall back, trying to control his breathing._

_“Oh come on Wells, it wasn’t even that bad.” Clarke shifted her weight on one leg and crossed her arms, just like her dad did._

_“Oh yeah?” he lifted himself up on his elbows. “How about you give it a go?”_

_She looked up at Jake with a smirk._

_“What? Don’t ask me! His life, his risk.” Jake raised his hands in surrender._

_“Risk? Clarke is 15, I’m 17, don’t blame me if your little girl gets hurt uncle Griffin.” He got up and brushed himself off._

_“Mhmm.” Jake just stood back._

_“I’ll go easy on you.” Wells said as he stood in a fighting stance, both his fists up, Clarke mirroring the same._

_“Oh how nice of you, Jaha. How about we get on with this?” Clarke smirked._

_Wells quirked a brow before circling the ring with Clarke across it._

_“GAH!” he lunged at her with a punch and she swiftly moved to the side, letting his own force drag him to the mat._

_Clarke_ _threw a smug smile at him as he stood up again._

_He grunted as he tried again, though this time the blonde teen didn’t let it slip._

_She leaned to the side, successfully dodging the punch before tripping him with a swipe of her legs._

_He fell to his knees as he tried to balance himself, meanwhile, Clarke moved behind him and put her across his neck effectively choking him while still holding part of his chin._

_He fidgeted to attempt and fail at removing Clarke’s arm as she put her other hand around over his head._

_“Like this?” She asked, as Wells writhed in her grab._

_“Yes. Well done, now Clarke, let the boy go.” She made a face._

_“Now…”_

_“Fine.” She let go and he fell on all fours, wheezing with tears in his eyes._

_“Now Clarke, thank Wells for going easy on you.” Jake gestured to the boy on the mattress who looked like he was positively dying._

_“Thankyou Wells, I don’t know if I could’ve done this if you were to actually try you know?” She feigned innocence._

_He stood up…barely, clearing his throat.”It-it’s fine, anytime.” He massage his constantly assaulted windpipe._

_Clarke_ _turned her head to Jake and he winked at her._

“Clarke.”

_She smiled, feeling happiness course through her, nothing made her more content than making her father proud, even for the littlest of things._

“Clarke!”

_It’s all she ever wanted to do._

“Clarke wake up!”

_Make Jake proud, in any way she could._

“CLARKE!” her eyes slowly opened.

“Huh what?” She tried to take in her surroundings.

“Get up.” She saw what looked like a giant ogre standing over her with a gun to her head. She narrowed her eyes to try to get a better look against the light.

“I said get up.” She heard it again.

“She’s getting up alright! She was just passed out, how about you give her a second wreck-it-ralph?” Anya spitted out.

“You, kitten, might wanna zip it, considering we have no use for you and hold the gun.” The man threatened and turned to Clarke on the ground.

“Now you get up.” He pointed his gun at her.

“Okay okay I’m getting up. I’m up, I’m up.” Clarke stood up.

“Hands behind your head.” He aimed the gun at her head at which she saw Lexa flinch, as if trying to jump in front of her.

What? No. No she didn’t. She was just unconscious, must be the aftereffects.

She put her hands on the back of her head finally taking in where she was.

“Good.” He put his gun down. “Watch them.” He ordered the remaining three agents in the room.

It felt as though the ground shook as he stomped out, moving the earth’s crust with each step.

Clarke squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the bright light, now noticing where they were.

“Woah…” was all that came out of her mouth as she looked around the giant hall they seemed to be in.

“Morning, blondie. I see you’re finally up.” Anya, ever the sarcastic one, was keen on pointing out.

“What is this place?” she held back from commenting on Anya’s remarks, settling for a an eye roll instead.

“The basement.” Lincoln observed, seemingly looking around for an exit.

Clarke’s eyes caught on to Lexa checking her out, which of course she later realized was her checking Clarke for any injuries.

_Damn you perverted brain._

For a super sneaky agent, Lexa wasn’t very well at hiding her worry for the blonde.

She knew the sensible thing would be to look for exits, think of strategies, make a plan, but all she could think about how was how one of Clarke’s knees were bent a lot more than the other, she was hurt, she kept trying to put her hands down, she couldn’t even hold her hands up anymore. Her knuckles were bruised, an angry maroon spreading across them, and a little blood in her blonde hair, probably from being struck unconscious.

At that Lexa felt her blood boil, she couldn’t even help it, she didn’t even know why, but her grip on her own hand tightened.

She was furious, and worried, and agitated, and fuming.

And it took about a second for it all to vanish as Clarke turned around and blue met green and Lexa all but melted at the fear in the blonde’s eyes.

She was scared.

Of course she was, a gun pointed to her face while this is probably all so unfamiliar to her. The feeling of fright that she could be killed any second, that she had no way out of here, that she could’ve died if the blow would have been even a tad harder. Of course she was shaken.

All of their heads turned at the muffled sound of the nameless ogre who awoke Clarke from behind two metal doors which opened not long after.

A tall, lanky boy with a smirk planted on his face walked through.

He was wearing a black sweatshirt with a gun in his hand, walking as if he was the king of the world, with said ogre and his friends following after.

“You know, I’m actually a little disappointed in you all. I mean how did you manage to miss something that was right I front of you guys, huh?” he said with a smug look on his face.

“Just like the puberty train missed you, jackass.” Anya really needed to know when to keep her mouth shut.

Dax was visibly pissed off as he slowly walked to her standing next to Gus opposite to Lexa, Clarke and Lincoln.

“Well, sweetheart, you know what I won’t miss?” He smacked her head with the back of his gun causing her to fall to the ground, the guards raising their guns as the rest tried to help her up. “You, when you’re being dragged off in body bags with your little friends here.”

“Fuck you, Larkin.” Lincoln spitted out.

“Ohhhh the man with his hands up in surrender threatening me, I’m soooooo scared.” His theatrics weren’t even that funny to Clarke, or maybe her opinion was biased, you know, considering how he was holding her and her friends at gunpoint.

Anya was starting to stand up now, hand on her head, rubbing where the hit obviously left a nasty sting.

Dax begun walking towards Anya predatorily, and it did not look very promising.

“It’s such a shame, to have to kill such a pretty face.” He ran the gun along her jaw and Anya pulled her face away. “You’d still look pretty in a body bag though, won’t y-----“

His attitude was cut off by quiet, muffled cries coming from a dipped head.

They started as sniffles in the entirely silent room, echoing back from the walls.

Soon it turned into actual sobs, and there was not one person in the room who wasn’t bamboozled as to what was going on.

“I-is she crying?” Anya quirked a brow, clearly, as astounded as everyone else in the room.

At that the sobbing got worse, profoundly worse. Clarke’s hands came down to her sides and she continued her crying with her head dipped in defeat.

“Oh for Christ’s sake.” Anya rolled her eyes.

“Shut up!” Dax reacted, surprising everyone in the room. In his defense, he hadn’t really ever experienced someone...crying in his captivity before.

“Uh…” he walked towards her, bending a little so he could see her face. “Hey?”

“I didn’t even wanna be here!” she covered her face with both her hands now. “I mean I’m only 22! It’s not supposed to be like this! I’m supposed to get a job, get married, get settled, enjoy life…” she sniffled, “not die in a stupid basement!” she resumed her breakdown.

“Oh stop it you’re making me sick with all your whining.” Anya scowled.

“I thought I told you to shut up.” Dax turned to her as she rolled her eyes.

He turned back to Clarke with a small smile on his face, and everyone in the room exchanged looks of utter astonishment.

“H-hey there.” He put his gun in the back of his jeans. “It’ll be okay…” He lightly tapped her shoulders and Lexa wanted to laugh at his attempts at comfort, but she had a much more important focus now.

Her heart felt like it was shrinking when she heard Clarke in such despair before she noticed something was off.

“I-it just wasn’t s-supposed to be like this y-you know?” Clarke continued to sob relentlessly.

Something was definitely off. She had heard Clarke cry and sniffle and do everything she was now. This wasn’t her. Not her voice, not the way she spoke, not Clarke.

“Come on now, it-it’ll be alright.” Larkin put both his hands on her shoulder and stepped closer.

Lexa felt her pulse fastening, he was getting increasingly closer to Clarke, even if it was to comfort her.

She should be the one holding Clarke, making her feel safe, she should be the one wiping her tears away.

She felt her heartbeat fastened and anger stir within her as she visible clenched her jaw.

Then she saw it.

It would not be visible to anyone standing in any other position than Lexa’s and even she saw the tinniest bit.

The smallest, most minuscule sight of that Clarke Griffin smirk from between her hair and hands and Lexa narrowed her eyes before widening them impossibly.

Clarke, in one swift motion, swiped him off his feet causing him to fall forward on his knees and instantly moved behind him putting an arm across his neck, grabbing his chin, and holding the other side of his head with her hand over it.

“Ah ah ah.” Clarke halted as the sounds of clicking guns echoed throughout the room. “I flick my wrist and his windpipe goes pop, so if I were you, I’d be very careful with those.”

They looked at each other before lowering their weapons. They had to; this jackass was their team leader after all.

“Good.” Clarke looked around, Lincoln’s eyes were miles past wide, while Gus was smiling with surprise.

Anya, however, looked shaken to her core, her jaw was hanging in shock she looked positively bewildered.

Then she saw her, green eyes sparkling with hope, looking at Clarke like she had seen an angel come down to earth, standing with her mouth slightly open.

Reluctantly, Clarke turned to Shrek himself (she really should not have time to make up nicknames right now but it is Clarke Griffin after all.)

“Now tell your men slowly put your guns in middle area between my friends.” She commanded to the guy who was about twice her weight and thrice her height.

“Ha, and why should we do that, little girl?” His laugh did not convey that he was at all amused.

“Because, Shrek,” She giggled internally, “this can go one of two ways; one, you attempt to kill us all and I break his neck and you end up with six dead bodies to take care of, one being his, and then the Queens end you and your useless existence.”

He looked away, considering his options.

“ _or two_ ”

His eyes snapped up to meet hers.

“You drop your weapons and let us go nice and easy, calling it a hostage situation, leaving this human embodiment of disappointment to take the fall. I mean he did just lose to someone who hasn’t hit the gym in months.” She tried to sound as convincing and in control as she could, she totally wasn’t though, she was losing her shit on the inside but she had to act like it was all fine, they had to get out of there.

It’s not every day that she holds the captain of a unit of deadly gangsters hostage.

The burly man began slowly walking towards Clarke, and she suddenly felt very small and swallowed the gulp in her throat.

He cracked his knuckles and his neck, as he looked at Clarke like she was his next meal.

He got closer and closer until he stood right over Clarke, hovering over her.

Clarke could now clearly see his neck muscles. How they were straining and how his biceps were bigger than Clarke’s head and how she was royally screwed.

_Fuck._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Baldy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa learns to appreciate and Clarke gets handed a huge responsibility.

Before Lexa completely recovered and registered what was going on, the ogre threw his gun, which landed precisely in the area Clarke defined.

He looked her dead in the eye, (which was the point where Clarke thought he had decided to kill her with his bare hands rather than use any weapons at all.) and said with a gruff voice,

“Weapons down, where she said.” All of them looked at each other.

“What?” said one of the guards.

“What?” followed by Clarke.

“Wh-at?” Dax chocked out.

“I said do what she says.” The room filled with sounds of gun clattering on the ground, one over the other.

“Yes um,” she cleared her throat, as Dax struggled for air under her, “good decision.” She turned to her friends, “Uh, Lincoln? A little help?”, which is when she also noticed all of their belongings behind him.

He rushed to quickly blink away his awe and close his mouth.

“Yeah, yeah, coming.” He grabbed a pistol thrown and checked the clip before putting the gun to Dax’s head so Clarke could let him go.

As soon as she released her grip, he was on the ground wheezing and massaging his neck. He rolled onto his back when he heard the familiar sound of the safety being clicked off and the barrel of the gun pointed right between his eyes. He raised his hands up in surrender with widened eyes, right before Lincoln grabbed him by the collar and poked the back of his head with the fully loaded weapon.

“Right um,” Clarke was an average height but she felt awfully small under Shrek’s gaze, “of course. Uh, can you go to the, um, back wall?” Clarke visibly took a step back when he growled and leaned over her. “…please?” she smiled nervously.

His eyebrows furrowed and his gaze pierced through Clarke as if she was paper.

And if she was being honest? She felt as light as one.

“You have 30 seconds after me and my men touch that wall to _run_. If we catch you after that, you won’t live to see what the Queens would do to your friends.” Clarke had to gulp to start breathing again somehow.

The burly man motioned his hands and all the guards began walking and reached the back wall, as did he, while Anya and Gustus loaded up.

Still in awe of what had just happened Clarke turned to see her entire team watching Anya and Gus gear up before her eyes fell on the brunette, mouth slack open as she slowly got up.

She was dumbfounded, at what she didn’t know for sure.

She did not understand whether it was Clarke taking down Dax or somehow convincing the giant to let them go or just Clarke, that had her gob-smacked.

“Lexa!” Anya shook her by the shoulder to bring her back to the hectic reality form whatever dimension she was currently lost in.

“What, yeah.” She struggled to take her sight off the blonde.

“Get the fuck up and help me load up!” she gestured to the clips on the ground.

“Yes, right, here.” She jumped to collect whatever she could before gearing up and taking a look at her team to make sure everyone was ready.

Anya had taken her ammo, Gus was wearing his vest, Clarke had grabbed her bag and Lincoln had tied Dax up, now carrying him like a sack of potatoes.

When nods were exchanged, Anya threw a gun to Clarke, who fumbled with the catch before holding the gun close to her chest in order to keep it from dropping.

Clarke turned to the men in the back, standing dutifully, when Shrek shouted from half way across the room.

“30!” Clarke was confused at first.

“Wha—”

“29!”

“Oh…”

_Oh…_

“Run.” She turned to everyone before sprinting to the double doors to burst them open.

Everyone followed suit, Lincoln right behind Clarke while the rest three covered them. Upon finally stopping outside the doors, she felt it.

She witnessed the stinging sensation behind her head, and the pain coursing through her body after putting pressure on her left knee.

Hissing loudly, she caught the attention of her big, ripped companion.

“You okay, Clarke?” he leaned down, seemingly unaffected by the writhing body on his shoulder.

“Wha-, yeah, yeah I’m fine.” She rubbed her head, trying to the dull the pain, when the rest three came out.

“Okay, so where to for the roof.” Anya looked around.

“Over here.” One might appreciate the coincidence of Lexa and Clarke speaking together, if only they weren’t pointing in the opposite directions.

“You were knocked out, princess, believe me this is the way out. “ Lexa began walking her way before Clarke chimed in.

“Well, I also memorized the entire blueprint for this building, so believe _me_ , it’s this way.”

Lexa growled.

“Listen here y-“ she was advancing towards Clarke when they felt the ground shake, with what they realized in seconds, was the sound of angry men charging at them.

“Go!” Lincoln shouted before running right, where Clarke pointed, and she’d have the time to be smug if men with the power and fury of bulls weren’t violently hurling themselves at the few.

They bolted towards the first door they saw, thanking every god of every religion that they found the stairs at the first try.

Sprinting up the steps, Clarke felt the pain in her leg intensify but ignored it and kept running on account of _not_ _dying_.

They could hear the steps of the guards behind them as they climbed up and Gus began speaking into his microphone that was no longer on his wrist. Clarke noticed she didn’t have hers either, Gus must’ve found his amongst their belongings.

“Indra! Come in, Indra!” he frantically shouted into the ear piece, merely out of panic, it’s not like Gus would ever raise his voice at her.

“This is Indra! What happened?!” she spoke into the ear pieces they clearly forgot to take off.

_Amateurs._

“We need you to get here within a minute.If possible less?” Her sigh was somehow more audible than her voice.

“I’m coming. Do. Not. Die.” And with that you could hear her voice cut off.

The pain was slowly over taking Clarke’s ability to ignore it but by the time it could get any worse, they reached the roof, now waiting for Polis to come to their rescue.

They felt like sitting ducks. As if they were in the middle of crossfire and they could do nothing but stand in the middle waiting to be hit.

Footsteps could be heard from the doorway but so could the sound of Polis’ engines. It ignited a sense of anxiety and hope within Clarke, neither helping with the major headache she was having.

Gun shots whizzed by them as they rushed to hide behind generators and fans.

“Indra, where are you?!” Anya spoke into Gustus’ piece by pulling his hands.

“Look up.” And sure enough the whirring of the plane’s exhausts and the sound of the ramp opening came into earshot.

Slowly descending above them was Polis and the ramp was settling onto the ledge with expert precision.

Lexa, Anya and Gus were on one side of the roof and behind a generator further away were Clarke and Lincoln.

“GO!” Gus shouted and like clockwork, Lexa and Anya rushed to cover Clarke and Lincoln as they climbed on board with Gus soon following after.

They kept shooting as ramps closed and still heard bullets bouncing off of the metal outside as Polis ascended away.

_O…kay._

The adrenaline was still rushing within Clarke as she tried to still her breathing, in the process though she felt Lincoln grabbing her from behind and hugging her tightly enough to suffocate her while he lifted her off the ground.

She giggled in his hold, remembering how Jake used to do that when she was younger.

A rush of memories came back, as she was put back on the ground, she swallowed them for now.

“That was _the_ coolest thing I have _ever_ seen.” Lincoln held her by the shoulders and looked her dead in the eye, to which she chuckled.

“I never thought I would say this, but baldy is right, that was mind-blowing, blondie.” Anya punched her on the arm. It was a little too hard for her taste, if she was being honest.

“You’re Jake’s daughter alright.” Gus held her by both her shoulders, a silent expression of how immensely proud he was, it seemed as though it was somehow from Jake’s behalf.

“What the hell do you mean by ‘I never thought I would say this?’And who the heck are you calling baldy?” Lincoln turned to Anya with his arms crossed while she shrugged.

“I asked…” all the heads turned to the cockpit’s door, “…for _one_ thing, Gus. All I said was, give me, a 7 minute cue in advance. Just that, and you couldn’t deliver Augustus Hill.” She turned around and walked back into the cockpit.

“Bu-but Indra!” and Gus quickly followed after.

Clarke chuckled at the scene before turning to Lexa, with expecting eyes.

Clarke would be okay with any sort of response. A “thank you”, “good job”, “not bad”, “great w---

“You almost got us killed.” Lexa commented.

_Ohhh._

“Excuse me?” Clarke lend her ear forward to emphasis her surprise.

“Your plan almost got us all killed, princess.” Lexa began walking towards her.

“I literally did everything I could to help!” Clarke exclaimed, blood rising to her ears.

“She’s right, Lexa, she saved our asses tonight.” Lincoln was calm and composed unlike…

“Woods! What’s gotten into you!” Lincoln had to practically hold Anya down.

“No, what she did, was try a stupid plan that almost got my entire team in body bags!”

“I…” Clarke could feel the sounds being muffled now, her vision had spots and suddenly standing straight up didn’t seem as easy.

“Clarke!” She heard Lincoln shout before she fell to the floor with a thud, barely acknowledging the pain in her leg or the back of her head.

|\\\|

“Indra. Indra, come on.” Gus chased after the short haired woman into the cockpit.

“I ask you of one thing Gustus. _One thing._ And this is how you come back at me? Huh? What am I supposed to do? Just sit around waiting for a call when you decide a frantic last minute plan to save yourself from the obvious life threatening danger you put yourself in? All the time?” Indra paced around the room as the man twice her size leaned a little, pushed back a bit by her voice alone.

He knew. He knew she wasn’t really angry about the last minute call, or even how often it happened. She worried. She wasn’t angry about time schedules or even the goddamn delaying, she was angry that Gus had found himself in yet another unnecessarily life or death situation and risked his life again for some stupid mission. She wouldn’t admit it, of course, neither would he. But it was this unspoken care expressed through many words and many moments of silence.

He knew.

“Hey.” Gus tried to interject Indra’s midnight stroll within her cabin.

“And somehow it’s always, _always_ , you who gets delayed due to one thing or the other and-“

“Hey.” He tried again to coax her.

“Oh and don’t even get me started on all the supplies you must have left behind. It’s not like Titus will be ultra pleased that you disobeyed direct ordered and went—“

“Indra!” He held her by the shoulders to stop her from lighting the cabin on fire with the speed of her feet.

She sighed, the littlest of touch bringing her comfort.

“I’m here. I’m fine. I’m sorry.” He looked deep into her eyes to show her how genuine he was.

She closed her eyes for a moment, as if to calm herself down, and opened them again with a look of happiness hidden behind her stoic features.

“Apology accepted.”

Gus smiled at that while she continued to remain expressionless.

“You kn—“ He has only begun when.

“Clarke!” both of them heard Lincoln’s voice cry out as they rushed outside to see what was going on.

“What happened?!” Indra roared.

“I don’t know she just fainted!” Lincoln hastily looked for a pulse.

“Blunt force trauma.” Lexa pointed out from where she was bent near Clarke, worry clear as day on her face, and anger suddenly dissipating into nothing but fear for the blonde. “She got knocked out with a baseball bat to her head earlier. Do something! Help her!”

“Her pulse is steadier than I thought, though she still has a concussion, she’d be in and out of consciousness a lot. Can’t be too sure though, we need to hurry to Nyko.” He turned to Indra.

“On it.” She ran inside with Gus yet again following after.

“Anya, take care of Larkin here.” He tilted his head to the unconscious body on the floor. “We used a sedative, he’s not gonna move for a while.” She nodded and went to pick up the tied up trophy from tonight to one of the rooms.

“Lexa.” She kept looking at Clarke, her eyes were shut, not the blissful shut, but the abandoned shut. Like somehow she had given up, like she wasn’t trying to fight the oblivion that came with being out. She welcomed the rest, the sweet escape from the reality.

“Lexa!” he said a little more sternly now.

She looked up at him, hesitantly, reluctant to take her eyes from the girl on the floor.

“She needs to get to a bed. I’ll bring her a bunch of towels and water to clean the blood and decrease her temperature, you take her to her room.”

Lexa nodded as Lincoln hurriedly paced away.

She stared at her. Her eyes were closed shut and her face was neutral. Nothing expressing what was going through Clarke’s head, what she was feeling.

Lexa snaked her arms underneath Clarke and picked her up as if she was paper-thin. She delicately carried her to the bed in her room and settled her on fur, placing her arms comfortably on her sides.

As she got up, and looked at the girl lying on the bed beneath her she felt a rush of guilt passing through her.

She knew it was her anger talking, her fright. She knew if it wasn’t for Clarke they’d be lifeless bodies at the bottom of the ocean by now. She knew she owed her life to Clarke.

But she couldn’t ignore the fear that coursed through her at the thought of almost losing those who became like family to her. The feeling of helplessness she felt when she witnessed Anya being dragged away. the feeling of uselessness she felt as she paced around the roof because she couldn’t do anything about it.

Then Clarke happened.

With her crazy ideas, and her impossible theories and her stupid plans, she saved her. She saved all of them.

Thinking about it now she couldn’t think of one good reason why she yelled at Clarke. She felt guilt gnawing at her heart like a leech.

If anything, she owed this girl all the gratitude in the world.

“Lexa.” Lincoln whispered from behind her.

She turned to face him, he had towels on his shoulders and a bowl of water in his hands.

“I need to clean up the wound.”

“Y-yeah sure.” She backed away, gesturing for Lincoln to take her place.

She went and sat on the chair next to the wall to the right of the bed.

She couldn’t take her eyes off her.

“She’s gonna be fine.” Lincoln whispered as he turned Clarke on her back to clean the place of impact.

Her skin was spilt open a little and blood has dried around the edges but was still fresh at the source. The skin around it had turned blue and purple. It was a sight that made Lincoln make a face and Lexa close her eyes in self loathing.

Lincoln began slowly dabbing away at the blood, careful not to make it worse.

He turned around once or twice to see Lexa’s leg bouncing up and down in anticipation and her hands over her mouth.

“Lexa, you being anxious is only making me anxious and I do not want to get this chemical cleaner inside Clarke’s skull so how about you go get some fresh air.” He stopped for a second to whisper lightly.

“Yeah.” Lexa got up, her eyes fixated on the wound.”Yeah, yeah…you’re right.” She shook her head. “I’ll be outside.

She stormed out of the room not trusting her own brain with what she was going to do or say next.

As she left she began pacing around in front of the giant window opening out to the view of a starry night. But Lexa didn’t have time for pretty sights or moments to spare to appreciate the beauty of the night. She had too much work to do.

What were they going to do with Dax now? Where was Clarke supposed to go after this? Would the Queens come looking for someone as inexperienced as the boy lying in the steel room? How would Clarke explain her being missing for two nights? How was she going to settle back into her life? Was she even going to settle back into her life?

Her questions slowly became more and more Clarke centric.

The thoughts were running around in her head as she was running around in a circle, hands clasped behind her back.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and her body went stiff before she realized it was Anya and let down her guard.

“If you walk any faster, Lexa, you will start _flying_.” She turned her around and saw worry clouding her gaze.

“Hey,” she cupped her cheek, and stepped closer, “hey what’s wrong?”

Anya and Lexa may not have been blood related but she was an elder sister to her nevertheless.

The same protectiveness, the same care, the same quarrels, the same worry. She was family, always had been since the day they met.

“I was right there Anya…” she started off, with a shudder in her voice that Anya had only seen once or twice before. “I was right there when she got hit and I couldn’t do anything about it. You should see it, An, it’s…she’s…there’s so much blood. And I...I…” She couldn’t even speak at this point.

“Lexa, breathe.” Anya coaxed her as she did what she was told.

Taking deep breaths, she stared into the eyes of her sister, hoping to seek comfort in her as she used to all those years ago.

As she still does.

“It wasn’t your fault, okay? It’s Azgeda, not you. Not. You.” Anya tried to comfort her.

“I even yelled at her,” she looked away, “but I didn’t mean it I swear Anya I was just scared about losing you all and I…” and just like that her gaze snapped back to Anya’s, “I don’t know where it came from I just…I swear I didn’t mean it…I…”

“Shh.” Anya hushed her as she pulled her into her arms. Not everyone was allowed to see her like this. Vulnerable, alone. Only the very few she cared about in the world had the privilege of Lexa’s trust.

Anya knew that the thought of losing them, the idea of even one of the people she cared about getting hurt scared Lexa to her core. She knew the fear that came with being abandoned, the fright of being left by your loved ones was always something that over whelmed Lexa.

Tonight was just another night pushing her to her limits. Anya knew lexa was still shaken by the idea of being alone, without the people aboard this ship right now.

But something was different. There was guilt and self-loathing eating away at every part of Lexa, spreading like a fungus. She felt responsible for Clarke getting hurt and the mere fact that she hadn’t woken up was no help either. She didn’t mean what she said, Anya knew, it was her anger at herself, I was the scare of losing someone, that was talking, not her.

“It’s going to be fine. She’s going to be fine. _You’re_ going to be fine.” She said in a hushed whisper.

At that, she felt Lexa loosening her tense knots a bit.

“Hey.” They heard the familiar voice of Lincoln and turned to face a small smile on his lips. He savored the moment between the two girls. “I just finished cleaning the wound up and I’m about to go lower her fever with cold water towels. I assumed you’d wanna know. I’m gonna get back and leave you two alone.” He turned around to get back to work when,

“Wait.” Lexa didn’t quite know why she stopped him, she turned to Anya, who gave a small nod.

It didn’t mean anything in particular. Just, a nod, a nod of assurance, approval, that whatever she was thinking was right, that no matter what she did, Anya was here, that it was all alright.

Lexa looked away, as if considering her next move, and then walked towards Lincoln.

“Let me. You should go rest, we shouldn’t be long from home now.” He smiled at Lexa’s consideration before giving her a hug and letting her pass through.

They both watched as she disappeared behind the door.

“You’re such a softie, Anya Forrest.” He nudges her to which Anya growled and tackled him onto the sofa, repeatedly punching him.

_She could hear the siren before they even stopped near her door. The deafening sound of the two notes intensifying impossibly before it stopped in a second._

_She felt something stir in the pit of her stomach, the feeling of impending bad news, suddenly her chest felt heavy._

_She took a deep breath, dismissing whatever it was as just lack of sleep._

_**Ding.** _

_The bell rang louder in the silent ambience than it usually did. The sound echoing through the house._

_Clarke was still tired from her sparring session with Jake earlier today, he must have come home late, she could meet him in the morning. Sure, he would not mind it._

_Her mom must have woken up by the sirens too since it didn’t take her long to hear the door opening._

_Clarke began to drift off to sleep again._

_Jake had taught her to make out what was going on by the tiniest of sounds and it was working no doubt, but she was too exhausted and she had school the next morning._

_On the brink of falling asleep she heard it, muffled cries._

_Sobbing, gasping._

_That feeling came back again, something whirling around in her stomach, her chest felt heavy, something kept pounding in the back of her head, telling her that something was wrong, bracing her and enticing her at the same time._

_She slowly descended the staircase, the full scene slowly coming into view and her sleep-hazed brain finally catching up._

_Her mom was weeping, howling even._

_Kane had her arms around her, trying to keep her upright._

_On the floor were a few items wrapped in plastic bags, a phone, some clothes and…_

“ _No…” she mumbled, grabbing the attention of both Kane and Abby._

_A watch. His watch. Covered in blood and dirt, hiding the broken glass underneath._

_Upon looking at Clarke, Abby somehow started mewling more, as if the realization had just dawned on her that Clarke was just a sixteen year old girl whose life was going to change for the worst from this very moment onwards._

“ _No…” she whispered to herself._

“Clarke?”

“ _No.” It was his favorite watch, he’d claim it was lucky for him._

“Clarke.”

“ _No!” He would never take it off. The dirt, the blood, the crying. Clarke suddenly couldn’t breathe._

“Hey, hey.”

“NO!” She screamed awake into sitting position.

“It’s okay, you’re safe.” Lexa’s arms were around her in a second, holding her, while Clarke tried to calm her breathing, with tears streaming down her face.

She tensed first and then went limp in Lexa’s hold. Letting her guard down. She felt safe, protected, she didn’t know why, but for the first time in years she let her guard down. Let it all out.

It felt like hours like that. With Lexa just holding Clarke as she let her tears fall free, as she shivered and quietly sobbed in her arms while Lexa held her close to her chest. The sound of her heart calming Clarke with every beat.

She began breathing with that rhythm and slowly found herself relaxed again.

Lexa didn’t let go yet, she didn’t want to. But remembering the appropriate boundaries she slowly let go of Clarke and sat on the chair next to her, worry in her eyes quite apparent.

Clarke closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried to turn her head to Lexa, which was when the agonizing pain in the back of her head hit her hard.

She hissed at the pain making Lexa flinch to go grab her, sooth the pain, but she remembered her limits yet again and sat back.

“Yeah you should probably lie down.” She grabbed the bowl from besides Clarke and put it on the floor as she laid back. Lexa dipped a strip of towel in the water carefully placing it over Clarke’s forehead.

“You know I really need to work on my passing out, what is this? The third time in two days?” Clarke winced at the pain still stinging.

Lexa smiled softly at the words, quickly changing her expression when Clarke turned to look at her.

She cleared her throat, “You’ve been in and out of consciousness a lot. This is the third time you’ve come back.”

“Perfect! So I’m in great shape right?”

“Clarke.”

“Okay fine.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I know what happens in a concussion, being a surgeon's daughter comes with certain perks.”

At this Lexa quirked a brow in surprise.

“What? You know for a blonde knowing smart stuff is a big deal.” she smiled.

“Clarke.” Lexa let her lips curve just the slightest, barely noticeable to anyone, anyone but Clarke.

She didn’t know why she felt a rush of pride flow through her as she saw Lexa’s mouth turn just the tiniest bit.

Lexa on the other hand was astounded by the blonde’s ability to crack jokes even after being so severely injured.

“I’m sorry.” Clarke heard it, very faintly, almost inaudible. Lexa looked so small, like she was trying to curl up in a ball and cry for whatever it was she was apologizing for. “About before, I shouldn’t have. We’re all here right now because of you. I shouldn’t have said what I said, I’m sorry.” Lexa wanted to get this over with.

Clarke understood. Of course she did. She had seen the panic on Lexa’s face when the guards took the rest away. She had seen her lose it. It was the shock, the trauma talking.

It was a scared little girl behind the anger that almost lost everyone she cared about…again.

Clarke understood.

To show that she did, she slowly slid her hand across the bed to rest on Lexa’s.

She positively looked like she was going to breakdown, regret coursing through her veins.

But Clarke.

With a touch, she brought her back, with a touch, she calmed her in seconds.

Lexa tried to avoid Clarke’s gaze for as long as she could but when she squeezed her hand, Lexa gave in.

Green eyes met blue and suddenly all the noise filtered out of their ears. The world stopped for a second. And when Clarke nodded slightly at Lexa, giving her an appreciative smile, it started spinning again.

  
Lexa looked down and then back up again with a little grin gracing her lips.

“You don’t have t---“ Clarke’s head slowly fell to the side and she passed out yet again.

Lexa wanted to laugh.

“Hey.” Lincoln walked in. “Any updates?”

“She was up but she just passed out again.”

“It’s okay, that’s normal. We’re about to land in a minute so I need to check Clarke and prep her for landing, do you mind?”

“Oh, oh no, yeah go ahead.” She stepped out of the way, slowly strolling outside the door, giving him the space he needed.

She stepped out and slowly closed the gate behind her, staring yet again, outside the giant window, where the sun was just rising.

She felt light. Like there was sunshine emitting from within her and there was no weight of anything at all.

All because of a smile and a nod.

Lexa wanted to scoff at herself for being so pathetic.

But yet somehow she couldn’t bring herself to stop smiling.

The mystery behind it, still unknown.

Still denied.

“Hu—wha—Lexa.” Clarke woke with only one whisper on her lips, while frantically trying to get up before Lincoln gently restrained her.

“Hey no, no you need to lie down.” He said in a hushed manner.

And with that she lied back down, eyes half closed out of exhaustion, and one word on her lips.

“Lexa?” she murmured.

“She’s outside,” he giggled, “I needed to check on you because we’re about to land, so she had to go. But she’s been here all night.”

At that Clarke furrowed her brow.

“Yeah, she wanted to be here when you woke up and someone had to keep your fever leveled.” He pointed to the strips of towels on the floor.

“Oh.” She fell back with a huff, and stared at nothing in particular.

Lincoln shook his head with a smile.

_Idiots._

He thought to himself.

This time Clarke passed out with a feeling of glee in her chest and a question in her mind.

_Why in the world would Lexa do that?_

_Was it guilt?_

_Was it gratitude?_

_Was the dynamic between them finally changing?_

If only.

If only they could read minds.

The world around them would be so much more peaceful.

|\\\|

“It has been two nights, Octavia!” Raven typed away on her laptop in a frenzied way.

“Look, Raven, I’m sure she’s fine.” Octavia tried to calm her to at least what her usually hyper level is.

“Fine? _Fine?”_ She got up to face Octavia, causing the girl to lean back a bit. She knew Krav Maga, could lift 50 kilos at once, and was standing in front of a girl who had a brace on but she was terrified nonetheless. “You remember this is the same Clarke we’re talking about who got drunk and woke up in Mexico! We had to bring her passport to the border because the only thing she had when she woke up was her phone, barely her clothes, an empty bottle of vodka and the guy sleeping next to her!”

Octavia couldn’t do anything but nod slightly in agreement.

She could hear the fear in Raven’s voice, the way it wavered.

Why wouldn’t it? Clarke and Octavia were family. They were the only thing close to belonging she had ever known. Of course she was worried beyond belief. Her own mother was never really worth calling family, even related. These two were all she had, and shed be damned if she ever let something happen to them.

Clearly understanding the frenetic state Raven was in, Octavia pulled her in for a hug and held her tightly before pulling back and assuring her.

“You’re right, I’ll keep calling her, and you try Abby. Since she’s not at the gallery, she’s gotta be at a friend’s house or passed out in a bar somewhere. We’ll keep looking, we’re gonna find her, I promise.”

Raven nodded slightly, trying her best to trust Octavia’s words.

It was time to get back to work.

Where could Clarke possibly have gone for two days?

|\\\|

The next time Clarke woke she was in her bed, well, at least the one she had woken up previously on.

She was in shorts and a tank top that was way too comfortable than any of her actual clothes.

Sunlight was pouring in from the window beside her bed and the sound of a frying pan could be heard till her room.

She heard her stomach grumble.

It had been hours; of course her tummy was cursing her.

For someone who ate Taco Bell for almost all her meals and way took way too many snack breaks for someone her size, going this long without food was an achievement.

“Argh!” she tried to move the blanket splayed across her body but remembered the leg pain she had managed to ignore so far.

She took the blanket off to see it bandaged fully.

She still felt a faint stinging sensation in the back of her head and felt her hand around to see it had been stitched up.

“God, how long was I out for?” she muttered.

It took her a good minute or two to fully stand up; she limped her way into the bathroom and brushed her teeth before she started making her way outside her room, into the kitchen area a little further from the living room.

The dull sounds of music could be heard coming from a wireless speaker resting on the kitchen island.

“ _Add it up” by Violent Femmes_.

Clarke would recognize that song anywhere in any lifetime.

Her father would play it all the time. It even annoyed her at point so much that she had to put a ban on the song being played on repeat.

The sight that came into view was one she didn’t think she would ever imagine less see.

“So don’t shoot, shoot, shoot that thing at me.” Gus was wearing and apron, _an apron_ , and swinging his hips to the beat of the bridge of the song.

“Don’t shoot, shoot, shoot that thing at me.” He flipped the pancake and continued to sing with every note and every rhythm.

This giant being of a man, who can tear people into two halves and push trucks and kill with nothing but his bare hands, was shaking his hips to a song from the 80s.

“You know you’ve got my sympathy.” Clarke let an amused smile form on her mouth and took a seat on the table near the kitchen.

“But don’t shoot, shoot, shoot that thing at me.” Gus slid the pancake onto the pile of others and performed while holding the maple syrup bottle as a microphone.

He swung around to the song, freezing instantly when he saw Clarke with her chin resting on her hands, grinning amusedly.

They both stared at each other for a while before simultaneously bursting into a fit of laughter.

“I almost strangled your father once, for playing this too much.” He chuckled as he brought Clarke a plate with two pancakes on it and kept the bottle of maple syrup besides her.

“Trust me, I know the feeling.” She giggled at the memory of the same song vibrating throughout the Griffin house making Abby cover her ears and groan while Clarke tried to shout over the music to tell her dad he had an obsession.

“Urghhhh!!” The source of the violent groan was a bed headed Anya dragging her slump body to the seat opposite to Clarke.

“Morning?” Clarke asked, careful in stepping in the dangerous path of conversation with morning Anya, who in turn growled, clearly not in the mood for coherent words.

“Here you go, Forrest.” Gus said with a nefarious smile while handing her a pancake as well.

“If you weren’t my boss, Gus? I would choke you in your sleep for blasting music at _9 AM in the fucking morning!”_

He let out a breathy laugh.

Lincoln came soon after, showered and dressed casually.

There was a sense of happiness in the air, a sense of familiarity and cheeriness that Clarke longed to see.

And then there she was, the sight Clarke had been hoping to see much sooner.

Hair in beautiful curls, falling to one side.

Black tank top, and black shorts.

Eyes still droopy from sleep but never once dull or without the glimmering green between the lids.

A sight to behold.

And this was just her in the morning.

Clarke wondered what it would be like to see this sight every morning.

_What?_

_No she didn’t._

_She didn’t wonder that._

… _shut up._

Both Lexa and Lincoln took a seat on the table. Lincoln sat next to Clarke while Lexa settled next to Anya, her being the only person who could handle her in the early hours of the day.

“Hey. How are you?” Lincoln gave her a sympathetic smile.

“I’m fine, better, uh, who fixed me up?” she gestured to the bandage around her leg.

“Nyko, he’s our doctor.”

And as if on cue.

“Hey! Kiddo! You’re up!” Nyko exclaimed and he and Niylah walked out towards the kitchen, fully showered and dressed. “How’s the head and the knee?”

“It’s fine, at least I don’t feel like I’m constantly being struck across the head every second.” She snarled causing Nyko to laugh as he settled opposite to Niylah next to Lexa.

“Well I’m glad you’re better, you’re lucky we got that hair shaved in time otherwi---“

“You WHAT?” she dropped her fork.

“Uh…”

She immediately scurried to feel the back of her head and gasped when she felt smooth skin.

“ _Why don’t I feel hair Nyko?”_ it was more of a threat than a question.

“Well, uh, you had, um, we needed to for the stitches, I, um, the rest of your hair hides it though! I swear it’s no biggie! It’s jus—“

“You _shaved_ my _hair_.” Clarke growled as she stood up slowly, the rest just enjoying the scene with amusement.

“Um…” he gulped. “G-Gus?” the pitch of his voice was much higher than usual.

“Yes?” he strolled around with piles of pancakes in his hand settled it down in the middle of the table.

He shifted his gaze between Nyko, who looked like a scared, defenseless puppy, despite his strength and size and Clarke looked like she was positively going to commit homicide at this very table.

“Oh sit down, Griffin, it looks just fine.” Anya paid little attention as she dug into her breakfast.

She slowly sat down while still narrowing her eyes at Nyko, at which Gus quirked a brow.

He sat down at the end of the table, leaving a seat on both his sides for…

“Come on, Woods, I’m 40 and I still beat you.” All heard Indra shout as she opened the door.

“I...I…you’re…so fast.” He barely made it inside and said between pants as he rested his hands on his knees.

Both of them were dressed in running attire and Indra had barely broke a sweat while Aden looked like he was dying.

They made their way to their seats, Aden sitting besides the ever caring Niylah, wiping the sweat off his forehead and giving him water, while Indra comfortably made her way next to Nyko and Gus who had his eyebrows raised.

“What’d you do to the poor boy?” Niylah asked worriedly.

“Oh, come on, he’s 16, he should be able to run 10 kilometers in 2 hours.” She said nonchalantly as if there was nothing entirely exhausting about running for that distance while everyone else looked at her with wide eyes.

Indra was quickly very aware of the eyes on her.

“Oh you stare at me now, but when he won’t be the skinny little chopstick he is now, you’ll thank me.” She pointed out.

They all knew better than to argue with Indra, taking cue even Clarke didn’t argue and dug into her pancakes.

Aden had stopped panting now and was hungrily stabbing at his food.

“Easy there, tiger.” Lexa suggested at the pace he gobbling up every bite.

“These phancakhes,” he said with a full mouth before gulping the whole thing down his throat, “are the best thing I’ve ever eaten Uncle Gus.” He managed to say before popping in another bite.

Everyone chuckled at the little blonde and exchanged quick jokes and laughs before cleaning up and settling in the living room.

“Woah, Clarke!” startled at Aden’s voice she quickly gave him a look over.

“What happened to your leg?!” He pointed visibly, from beside Lincoln where they were sitting.

“Oh this? I, uh...” She turned to anyone for help. Literally any help at all.

“She fell down the stairs.” Lexa was sitting next to Aden and very cleverly lied. “She tumbled down like a damn ball, even hit the back of her head.” Was she trying to sound more convincing or jabbing at Clarke?

“Yeah, uh, that.”

Aden winced, “How bad does it hurt?”

“Not much. But I wouldn’t suggest ever sliding down that railing.” Clarke joked causing Aden to burst into laughter.

It was the aroma of peace, quite, happiness, something this house hadn’t seen in a long time, it’s as if the blonde with her golden colored hair and her million dollar smile lit up the house with her grace.

Gus and Indra were sitting on the two chairs next to each other, and Anya and Clarke were sitting on the sofa opposite to Lexa, Aden and Lincoln. Nyko and Niylah had chosen to get to work in the garage. Clarke wondered what they could be working on.

To Gus this was it. If he saw himself, after retiring after a few years, this is where he’d wanna be. With his family, with smiles and laughter, and a sense of closure. As much as he loved the bliss they were in right now, he knew there werematter to be discussed.

“Hey Aden, buddy, I think Nyko and Niylah could use a hand don’t you think?” Gus leaned forward on his seat.

“Right.” Aden pushed himself up from his snuggly position next to Lexa and skedaddled away to the garage.

Lexa couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face. Her brother was such a dork, oh how she loved him with every nerve in her body. As she watched him hop away, her eyes drifted to the other blonde she had seemed to grow protective of. There was a smile on her as she shook her head at the little beaming boy. It flared something up within Clarke, she turned her head to meet Lexa’s smile with her own. They stayed like that for a while, forgetting the people around them, lost in each other’s eyes before Anya cleared her throat.

“What?” Lexa murmured turning her head to Anya and sitting in the most laid back position possible, trying to shake off the eyes on her.

“Nothing, softie, I was just trying to get your attention to the matter at hand.” She turned to look at the blonde, “What do we do with blondie now?” she said in the most nerve-racking tone possible.

Clarke’s eyes widened, she thought for sure Anya meant they were gonna kill her until Lincoln halted Clarke’s thought process with his hand,

“What she means is, where you’re gonna be safe, so we can send you there.” At that she visibly let out a breath.

“She needs to go back.” Indra pointed out.

“Go back to where? A place already swarmed with Azgeda agents?” Anya countered. “There is no possible way Griffin here can live back at the one place they'c come looking for her."

"Yeah but we can't risk some overly passionate friend or family going on a rescue mission, it'll draw too much attention." Lexa wondered out loud.

The knowing smile on Gus' face was just almost overlooked, barely missed.

Lexa knew that smile. That very specific curve that meant her all knowing supervisor was aware of something they weren't.

"Tell me, Clarke," her attention snapped to Gus who looked as if he already knew the answer to the questions he was to ask, "How'd you get the apartment? The one you're living in with your roomates."

"Uh, my dad, I think he bought this many years ago. When mom found out I was going to reside here in Brooklyn after I graduated from Skaikru, she said it would be efficient if I stay here."

"Right. How is the place, Clarke? Is it spacious? Comfy?"

"Um, I mean it's a little too big, I always wondered how dad afforde--"

"And the neighbours? Workers? They're nice to you? Keep checking up on you?" He folded his arms.

"Oh just get to the point!" Anya snapped, clearly too impatient to carry on with this game of theirs.

"Fine. Did you know, Clarke? That you're dad, apart from being a remarkable agent, was the ambassador for Grounders Corp.?"

"For what?"

"Grounders. What you thought we were just rag tag team of athletes working for the good of the world?" Anya raised a brow.

"Well, yeah."

"Hell no! I ain't got time for that! I got bills to pay!"

"Anya, you live in a company house, drive a company car, and buy things on the company credit card, _apart_ from your salary." Lincoln tubbed his temples, this arguement was going nowhere.

"Yeah, bu--"

"What are you trying to say, Augustus?"

"As ambassador, you have certain...priveleges. One of them being complete protection for your family."

She continued to give him a confused look.

"He asked for that apartment because he had begun to think that your home wasn't safe anymore. Paranoia set in, that Azgeda had somehow found your house, though that isn't possible. All the houses for the esteemed members of the company get protection, including security and address confidentiality, information like that is in our systems and that's it. It doesn't go beyond."

Clarke looked purely bewildered.

"Wait, so you're telling m--"

"He bought that house with all the priveleges, Clarke. Even if Azgeda recognises who you are, your adress won't even be in police records, just till us."

"What if they follow her?" Lexa had so far sat back and quitely listened to the entire discussion. Carefully analysing every word being uttered, running scenarios in her head of everything that could go wrong. Somehow the idea of Clarke being put at risk originated feelings of protectiveness within her.

"The entire building is inhabited by Grounders, every newspaper boy, every resident, and there are agent put on surveilance at a 20 meter radius. The entire neighbourhood is for retired agents or agents in hiding. It's safe and secured, Azgeda wouldn't dare to even attempt coming anywhere near."

The silence that fell had a similar affect on every one. The decision had been made of course. There was no doubting that Clarke going back was the safest option here, but the departure was in sorrow. She had saved their lives sure, but it was something more than that, it felt like she belonged. Like even if she left, she would still have a home here, and that's what made the goodbye even harder to accept.

"I want to keep working with you." It was Clarke who broke the reminiscent silence.

"How? You won't be here anymore." Lincoln lifted his feet onto the couch.

"Doesn't mean she still can't work with us." Indra, who had been silent for the entirety of the process, stood up stiffly, straightning her blazer. "Gustus, Lexa, scheduel the conference with Titus you've been delaying for so long, you deserve the ass-whooping you're going to get, and introduce him to Clarke, surely being Jake's daughter would give him a nudge to let her in. Anya, come with me and help me to set up the home theatre, Aden's boyfriend is coming and I hope to gain a good first impression. Lincoln, go cook." The ordered came spitting out of her mouth like air and within seconds everyone was on their feet, hurriedely rushing to their assigned tasks, clearly terrfied of the dark complectioned woman.

She walked off with her hands behind her to the presumed home theatre and Anya groaned as she pushed herself off the couch to follow Indra, muttering something under her breath.

Lincoln, on the other hand, seemed quite please with the job handed to him.

The man could break a knee with a flick of a wrist and _cooking_ was his leisure activity. It amused Clarke to no end, how easily he could break the stereotypes.

And then there were three.

She didn't know who Titus was but from the way Gustus was exhasperately sighing, and Lexa was groaning, he seemed someone who was not going to be easy to face.

She lifted herself off the sofa, still feeling a little pain in her body but choosing to ignore it, as Lexa and Gus dramatically dragged themselves to a wooden double door.

"You ready?" Lexa winced, as if picturing the toungue-lashing they were about to recieve.

Gus snorted. "No."

|\\\|

If Clarke was Lexa, in this very moment, she would be wincing too.

The important looking bald man on the giant screen at the end of the lavish conference room, was turning red with understandable anger.

His wide nostrils flared a little more before he let loose on his rage.

"THIS IS THE MOST RECKLESS THING YOU AS AGENTS COULD HAVE DONE!"

Everyone tilted their heads down.

Lexa was leaning, a little further away, against the wall adjacent to the screen, pretending to be least concerned with the angry syllables flying in her direction.

"Agent Woods!" she looked at the screen with a daunting look. "You're lucky I haven't fired you! You can't just go around doing whatever the hell you feel like! You may have started a war against the Ice Nation! I--"

Clarke felt the anger bursting out of Lexa before she saw it, and even then her minor efforts to stop were to no avail.

"First of all," the tone with which Lexa begun made Gustus widen his eyes and stare at her with a warning in his eyes. "Ice Nation is the name they hide behind in the daylight, so them oh so pure deeds don't get exposed to the general public. And secondly, we're already at war! The only thing keeping us from winning it is you!"

She looked as though she regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth.

It took two seconds for her expression to change from a fury and rage to something that said, " _Shit..._ ".

Quite accurately that's exactly how Lexa was feeling.

_Oh god. What did you do, Lexa? What the hell did you do? You don't wanna go to work at a desk with paperwork do you? What the fuck is wrong with you? Crap, crap, crap,crap, what if he fires you? I don't think you're fit for any other job, Alexandria. I mean maybe a barista, but what if you can't make the espresso right. Oh fuck, what if you add extra cream. What i--_

"Apologies, sir." and Gustus saves the day, yet again. "She's just a little emotional right now. The mission took a toll on all of us. I'm really sorry, sir, I--"

"Agent Hill, in the next 30 seconds, you better give me a good enough reason to not take the entire Trikru off duty...for _good."_ He said through gritted teeth.

Lexa seemed to be stable now and acknowledging safe routes. Gus and her looked at each other before turning to Clarke and then turning back.

They both nodded just the slightest, as if that was some form of a message conducted through the tiniest muscle movement.

"On our mission, sir, we managed to abduct a Azgeda representative." his eyes enlarged visibly at that.

"Dax Larkin." Lexa held up a picture of him to emphasis her point further. "He's Ontari's assistant, and she's Nia's ri---"

"Right hand woman." he wrapped up, nodding in agreement, as if he was contemplating something,

"...Precisely." Gus concluded. "Moreover, we found someone you might be interested in." both Lexa and Gustus turned around at the same time, looking expectingly at Clarke, standing at the end of the room.

"Uh..." Clarke took hesistant and small steps towards the other end of the room to come and stand weakly next to Gus. "Hi." she waved nervously.

"Sir, do you remember agent Griffin?"

"Remember?" he looked as though he had been offended beyond belief. "He was the last ambassador for Grounder Corp. No one has been able to fill his position since he...since uh...anyway of course I remember him, he was one of the greatest agents we've ever had." he looked like he was reminiscing all the good times with Jake and Clarke felt a gush of pride wash over her.

Gus and Lexa smiled at each other, this was their ticket.

"Well sir, meet Clarke Griffin, Jake Griffin's daughter." he put his arm around her.

To say that he looked shocked would be an understatement. His mouth fell open just the slightest as he took in the prodigy that was Clarke Griffin.

"I...I didn't know he had a daughter." he linked his hands on the table in front of him, trying to at least hide the turmoil inside his head.

"Well," she chuckled nervously, "here I am, all flesh and bones...well...sort of." she gestured to her leg.

He looked unamused.

"Tell me Ms. Clarke," he cleared his throat, "have you been treated properly? Adequet services? Have my agents been giving you proper treatment?"

And he _smiled_.

It was small enough that it could unnoticed but it was a _smile._

Hesitant, nervous, and twitchy, but still a smile.

Gus looked like he was about to have a stroke for sure and Lexa just stood with her mouth agape.

"Uh, yeah." she looked between her two companions. "Yeah, it's been great."

"Good, good." He looked down, at his hands. "I hate to drop this information on you like this Ms. Griffin, but I..." he looked up nervously.

Clarke, being the analytic little genius she is, of course noticed the vibes changing to something making everyone a little more uncomfortable.

"What is it?" she stepped forward.

"Do you have any siblings, Ms. Griffin? Any _older_ brothers or sisters?"

"No...?" the question in her voice was clear. Where was he going with this?

"I, uh, your father, in fact, the entire Griffin dynasty..." he seemed unsure of what to say. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before giving it another try.

"Look, Grounders Corp. was founded by the Griffin's, your great grandfather, he was a partner from the very start, he took the position of ambassador, then your grandfather, and then your father." he tried to raise his brows, begging for Clarke's brain to register what he was saying.

But it was way too unbelivable for Clarke to even imagine the possibility.

"With all due respect, sir," seemed as though Lexa was in the same boat. "we already know the Griffin's owned the company, what does this have to do with Clarke?" she turned to Gus who's jaw had gone slack open.

"She's the heir." it sounded small, and shocked, as if he was just now realising what had been in front of his eyes this whole time.

"What?" Clarke stepped back a bit.

"It's like, well, it's like a family heirloom, this position of the ambassador. It's been passed down from every generation, but all of your descendants, Clarke, died of old age and retired before passing away, handing over the postion to the net generation by choice, but Jake..." he looked away, so did Clarke.

"But," Titus grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. "Your grandfather also signed a treaty, this was a position to be continued by the Griffin lineage only, so legally..."

"I'm the ambasaador." Clarke froze.  
  
  


Lexa's eyes widened and Gus looked at Clarke with worry.

"I...I'm gonna send over the contracts you need to sign and the files and information you need. Your badge is also underway for preparation. I think I should take my leave. Good afteroon, ambassador." with that the line went beep and the screen went black.

The dim lights around Clarke created the sinking effect she felt in her head. It was a whiplash of sorts, one minute she had to beg to sneak her way into working with Trikru and the next she's apparently some sort of highly important leader?

"Clarke." Gus put a hand on her shoulder. She met his gaze with her beaming sky blue.

"I'm sorry I...I need to go." And with those words she rushed out of the conference room, leaving Lexa and Gustus to comprehend what had just happened themselves.

|\\\|

"You're leaving?" Aden was standing near the door frame to Clarke's room where she had just finished packing.

She almost jumped at the voice, but how could she really, it sounded so small, so innocent. The quiet, disembodied sound soon had a fitting face.

Aden was making a pouty face, causing Clarke to giggle slightly, "You know I have an actual home to go to right?"

"Yeah but I wanted you to meet Zoran." he looked down at his feet shyly, as if he was asking for this huge request from the older blonde.

Clarke slung her bag over her shoulder and walked to the little boy, holding his chin between her forefinger and her thumb, making him look at her.

"I promise, Aden. I will meet the both of you properly. How about lunch, this weekend?" she could use a little lighthearted fun.

At that his eyes lit up with excitement and his lips curved upward into a warming smile.

"Perfect!" he jumped.

Clarke laughed a little and ruffled his hair before making her way to the garage.

Nyko and Niylah seemed to be working diligently on a table covered with Jake's inventions from Clarke's bag. She noticed her Mustang, now cleaned and shining in the middle of the place.

She cleared her throat to snap them out of the sophisticated world of science they had lost themselves in.

They jumped around at the same time making Clarke chuckle. Oh boy, she was gonna miss them.

"Clarke, your father was a genius, I mean he's made most of the technology we use today but this is stuff we've never seen before. It's brilliant!" Nyko exclaimed as Niylah nodded with a smile on her face.

"Well, I'm he would've been very happy to hear that." she smiled softly.

The two mirrored her expression before turning to pack the things and hand it over to her.

"Here." Niylah gave her the black backpack she had brought and Clarke leaned to hug both of them before they even knew it.

"Thankyou." she whispered as they hugged her back.

"I'll be on my way then." She suggested as she fished her keys out from the bag she had been handed not so long ago.

The sound of the engine roaring was more than enough encouragement to roll out her car and drive at a life threatningly fast pace back home.

She needed a break and alchohol.

This was going to be way more complicated than Clarke thought.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


 

  
  


 


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